LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. While the school system was mentioned in the indictment brought in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the indictment does not name the Limestone County Board of Education or anyone currently involved with Limestone County Schools as defendants. The indictment further alleges that the defendants went to various lengths to conceal the fraud from the state.Such lengths included: creating fake report cards, manufacturing false addresses for the students of the private schools who lived outside of Alabama, and submitting falsified course completion reports to the state department of education. The defendants offered the private schools various inducementsincluding computers, direct payments, and access to online curriculumto persuade them to share their students academic records and personal identifying information with the public school districts. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay will be sentenced July 21, along with Gregory Earl Corkren and David Webb Tutt. Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America. is a thirty-one-year veteran public school educator with twenty-seven years in educational leadership. FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector Generals Southeastern Regional Office. While the school system was mentioned in the indictment brought in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, the indictment does not name the Limestone County Board of Education or anyone currently involved with Limestone County Schools as defendants. Gregory Corkren was a resident of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and was a retired public educator. Another round of projects was set for summer 2010, at 21 schools. Holladay , . Peeples most recently served as an inspector in the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. He left Limestone County Schools to become the director of Bristol, TN schools. In reality, however, the participants of the scheme were falsifying student names and using the personal information of actively enrolled private school students to bump up enrollment numbers. An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. He is also listed as a friend of Trey Holladay in the indictment. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. This was accomplished by enrolling full time in-person students into their respective virtual schools. STEALING FROM THE STATE: Ex-superintendents indicted in multiyear PRIVACY POLICY | Former Athens superintendent, two others sentenced in virtual school case A fourth defendant, former Limestone County superintendent Tom Sisk, was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison. TEAM MASCOT. Its just wrong, Opinion | Sen. Jay Hovey may have meant well, but he was wrong. Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. Tom Sisk, who pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme, will serve 18 months in federal prison. District, teachers, at odds. Retired teacher Gregory Greg Earl Corkren was sentenced to 22 months in federal prison and must pay $1.3 million in restitution, and former Marengo Academy football coach David Webb Tutt was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and must pay restitution of $259,000 and a fine of $15,000. Carter's co-conspirators include former superintendent of the Athens City Schools district Dr. William L. ("Trey") Holladay, III; David Webb Tutt, of Uniontown, Alabama; Gregory ("Greg") Earl Corkren, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and former superintendent of the Limestone County School district Thomas Michael Sisk. Athens City School Administrator Found Guilty in Virtual Education The jury found Lorenzo Mills guilty of assaulting three incarcerated people with a riot baton and falsifying a report. When he entered his guilty plea, Holladay admitted that he, along with co-defendant Thomas Michael Sisk, superintendent of the Limestone County Schools system (LCS), conspired to fraudulently inflate the number of students enrolled in their systems, the statement reads. . Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr., who headed up the Athens online school, is set for trial on February 7, 2022. The Day's Scoop: Your daily email briefing on all things Alabama politics. The defendants named in the indictment are: (1)Dr. William L. (Trey) Holladay, III, 56, a resident of Athens, Alabama and the former superintendent of the Athens City Schools district; (2)Deborah Irby Holladay, 57, of Athens and formerly employed by the Athens City Schools district; (3)William Richard (Rick) Carter, Jr., 45, also of Athens, currently the executive director of planning for Athens City Schools and formerly the districts director of innovative programs; (4)David Webb Tutt, 61, of Uniontown, Alabama; (5)Gregory (Greg) Earl Corkren, 56, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and (6)Thomas Michael Sisk, 55, a resident of Toney, Alabama and formerly the superintendent of the Limestone County School district. A former Athens school superintendent has pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the Alabama State Department of Education by falsely inflating the number of students enrolled in public virtual schools. Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay was placed on administrative leave after federal agents raided his home in June, 2020. Alabama department of education wanted defendants to repay $5.7 million, found guilty of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in March, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. According to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office on December 16, Holladay admitted that he and co-defendant Thomas Michael Sisk conspired to inflate the number of students enrolled at Athens City Schools and Limestone County Schools. Scroll to continue reading. LA Unified strike nears; teachers plan to join other workers in protest YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Landon Powell, Matt Williams, Hunter Dilworth, Ryan Brown, Trey Dyson and JK Love. Federal trial pushed back for former Athens superintendent RELATED: Athens City Schools approves separation agreement with former superintendent, $250,000 payment. Holladay was one of three defendants sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson. of Justice explained in a statement: The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to fraudulently enroll students in public virtual schools and then falsely report those students to the Alabama State Department of Education. Additionally, any defendant convicted of aggravated identity theft could receive a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence on each count. The system refers further inquiries about the matter to Dr. Holladay's legal counsel and the federal officials involved." . All rights reserved. Current Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Shearouse released this statement: On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, Limestone County Schools learned it was mentioned in an indictment for involvement with a virtual school program during the 2016-2017 school year. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. Corkren also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. APRs Josh Moon first reported about the FBIs investigation into Holladay in August when he reported that in less than three years, Limestones general fund budget swelled from a reserve balance of around $2 million to now more than $20 million. Trey received a master's degree degree from West Alabama . A trial date had been set for September 13th in Montgomery for former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, his wife Deborah Holladay and Rick Carter, director of innovative. They anticipate to have a new superintendent in place very soon. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. - Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay officially pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme on Thursday. Pomona Unified School District - Wikipedia As the office responsible for identifying fraud, abuse, and other criminal activity involving U.S. Department of Education funds and programs, ensuring that those who abuse these funds or game the system for their own selfish purposes are stopped and held accountable for their criminal actions is a big part of our mission., Integrity and trust are characteristics of Alabama teachers and administrators. According to the plea agreement, additional charges of wire fraud and identity theft against Holladay were dropped. As Attorney General, I am committed to stand together with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated, and that appropriate action is taken.. Holladay sentenced to five years | News | enewscourier.com Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. Former Athens City Schools superintendent William L. "Trey" Holladay III on Thursday received the maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and ordered to pay $2.9 million in . Because of state laws, Athens Schools officials have been unable to terminate Rick Carter, who was convicted in March of seven felonies. W.L. According to his. It goes on to allege, "It was a purpose of the conspiracy for Trey Holladay, Deborah Holladay, Carter, Corkren, Tutt, and Sisk to obtain, directly and indirectly, for their own personal use, portions of the increased revenue generated for ACS, LCS, and CCS by the fraudulent enrollment of private school students in the ACS, LCS, and CCS virtual schools.". Details on the plea agreement were released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Montgomery on Thursday. Co-defendants Gregory Earl Corkren, David Webb Tutt, and Thomas Michael Sisk, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government. Moving forward, we will be a transparent and accountable school system which provides the best educational experience we can for our students. Six of the defendants in the lawsuit former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, his wife Deborah Holladay, ACS Director of Planning Rick Carter, former Limestone County Schools . Court records show on Tuesday Holladay. During the school years that the scheme allegedly occurredthe 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school yearsthe private school students and parents had little to no connection with the public school districts in which they were supposedly enrolled. His previous experience includes system-wide administrator, high school principal, elementary principal, assistant principal, athletic director, classroom teacher, and head football coach within the state of Alabama. Trial delayed for former Athens City Schools superintendent accused in Former Athens, Limestone superintendents indicted for virtual-education He still faces 88 counts of wire fraud and 34 counts of aggravated identity theft. Here, both the Limestone County School District and the Athens City School District received more than their fair share of funding at the expense of even the most cash-strapped school district, Thompson wrote. If you want to plan the perfect spring picnic, food and drink are important, but its certainly not the only factor to consider. Reporter Josh Moon contributed to this report. He is one of six state educators accused of enrolling those private school students into their virtual classes to get their tax dollars. After a full review of the situation and the uncertainties of the circumstances, the board of education believes it is both timely and appropriate to make a change in leadership as it is in the best interest of Athens City Schools. ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - Former Athens superintendent, William Lee "Trey" Holladay has entered a guilty plea for a conspiracy charge. She says following the statement, the board unanimously voted to keep Rick Carter on administrative leave. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. He faces a maximum prison sentence of five years along with substantial monetary penalties. The agreement states Holladay will face a minimum sentence of no fewer than 30 months in prison. The federal investigation has been ongoing since that time. Former Athens superintendent sentenced to 5 years in federal prison Crusader. Courtesy photos This funding was used in part to fund. STEALING FROM THE STATE: Retired educator received $1.7M from ACS The Board has not been informed of a date certain for the conclusion of the investigation. Holladay was on leave from June 2020 until his last day with the district on Oct. 31, 2020. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. Former Athens City Schools superintendent Trey Holladay was sentenced Thursday afternoon to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a multiyear scheme to. DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONS. NINETY-SIX HIGH SCHOOL. House Calendar for 4/27/2023 - South Carolina Legislature Online Former Athens superintendent Trey Hollaway, who pleaded guilty to his role in concocting a scheme to defraud public schools across the state, will spend the next 60 months in federal prison. All rights reserved (About Us). The defendants in this case prioritized their own profits over the education needs of our students. Each will have three years of supervised release after serving prison time. In total, the Alabama Department of Education believes the six people robbed public schools of more than $5 million using a variety of methods to falsify virtual schools rolls and illegally gain more per-pupil funding. Published on July 22, 2022 at 8:08 am CDT. The money Alabama sets aside for public education should be used for exactly thateducating the students of our public schools, stated United States Attorney Franklin. Athens school administrator William Richard Rick Carter Jr. was found guilty of conspiracy, four counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in March. Corkren faced an additional two-year sentence and up to $250,000 fine for the aggravated identity theft charge. The mastermind of Alabamas virtual school enrollment scam was sentenced Thursday to a half-decade in federal prison. Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay was placed on administrative leave after federal agents raided his home in June, 2020. According to the indictment, "The purpose of the conspiracy for ACS [Athens City Schools], LCS [Limestone County Schools], and CCS [Conecuh County Schools] to obtain greater statefunding allocations through the Foundation Program than they would otherwise have been entitled to by purporting to enroll into their respective virtual schools students who were in fact full-time students of brick-and-mortar private schools and who were not taking even close to what could be considered full course loads through a virtual education program. Co-defendants . To learn more about The Alabama Education Lab and receive notifications about stories and events, sign up for its newsletter, Ed Chat. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Former Athens Superintendent William Lee "Trey" Holladay is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty for conspiracy in December. It is located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, and is the third-largest school district in Los Angeles County. A spokesperson for the FBI confirms that "law enforcement action" was taken at the home of Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay on Tuesday morning. 'Trey' Holladay, Ed.D. 2 former AL public school superintendents among 6 charged with fraud Sentencing is expected next year. Defense attorneys filed a motion with the court to delay the trial from its original September start in order to give them more time to . Former Athens superintendent pleads guilty, settles conspiracy case The private school parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. The Los Angeles teachers union's last strike was in 2019. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Copyright 2021 WAFF. As a result of the fraudulent reporting the school systems received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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