If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. All sections in the city are zoned to an elementary, middle, and high school.[3]. In fact, as mentioned during the Justice Departments press conference, the indictment does not include any current Limestone County School employees. A federal judge granted the motion on Dec. 7. Former Athens City Schools (ACS) Superintendent Trey Holladay and former Limestone County Superintendent Tom Sisk were both indicted, along with Deborah Irby Holladay, Trey Holladay's. 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He is one of six state educators accused of enrolling those private school students into their virtual classes to get their tax dollars. The various defendants then received, for their own personal use, portions of the state money. Gregory Corkren was a resident of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama and was a retired public educator. 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 . The mastermind of Alabamas virtual school enrollment scam was sentenced Thursday to a half-decade in federal prison. David Rothwell Athletic Director at Iredell-Statesville Schools Statesville, NC. Trey and Deborah Holladay released the following statement following the indictments release: We are a family of teachers and coaches. 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. Assistant Superintendent at Iredell-Statesville Schools Statesville, NC. Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America. Terms of Use is a thirty-one-year veteran public school educator with twenty-seven years in educational leadership. Alabama Board of Education Vice President Wayne Reynolds told AL.com that the sentences were justified. He faces up to 20 years in prison. 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Each will have three years of supervised release after serving prison time. The Board says they will begin the process and timeline for posting and selecting a new superintendent within the next few weeks. Ivey announces new record low unemployment rate for Alabama, Small business optimism declines in March, 2022 economic development projects brought record capital investment, Online job ads in February down 12.4 percent from last year, Britt: Kids Social Media Act critical for protecting children, Sewell calls on Congress to reject Republican debt ceiling demands, Britt part of bipartisan effort to regulate kids use of social media, US Sen. 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'Trey' Holladay, Ed.D. According to court records and information contained in Holladays plea agreement, Holladay and Sisk did so when they submitted to the ALSDE lists of enrolled students who were, in reality, full-time students at private schools located in other parts of the state.. 'Trey' Holladay, Ed.D. ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - UPDATE: See details from Thursdays special meeting of the Athens City Board of Education below the details of each individuals charges. ACS would then use, directly and indirectly, portions of the excess money to fund the completion of capital projects, including, the new campus of Athens High School. Federal officials said the two former superintendents and four other people fraudulently claimed private school students who attended schools in the Black Belt Region, were enrolled full time in Athens City and Limestone County School Districts. Hollaway was ordered to pay $2.9 million. TEAM MASCOT. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Montgomery has named two former school superintendents in an indictment. Court records show on Tuesday Holladay. All three must report to the Bureau of Prisons by 2 p.m. on Sept. 1. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. - Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. 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 restitution for his part in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme where he ordered private school students to be enrolled as full-time virtual public school students in order to receive state education funding. Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. Robert Bentley's resignation for similar crimes. Pasadena's Minimum Wage Rate Increases to $16.93 on July 1. The first of the Measure PS projects were completed in summer 2009. Holladay , . All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Funds allocated for education should be spent to educate our public school students. None of the other individuals charged in the indictment remain affiliated with Athens City Schools in any manner. In the four months that the investigation has been underway, officials within the school system say they have fully cooperated with a federal investigation, and, per the superintendents contract, has continued to pay Holladays salary and related benefits. 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. Show All Show Calendar. Former Limestone County Superintendent Tom Sisk was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Tuesday, fined $15,000 and ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution. As part of the plea agreement, the U.S. Attorneys Office will move to dismiss other charges against Holladay. We appreciate so much the overwhelming support from our friends and community. Athens, Alabama. As a result of this, districts received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. Trey received a master's degree degree from West Alabama . 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. The private school parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. The Los Angeles teachers union's last strike was in 2019. ", Public corruption remains the FBIs top criminal priority because public officials must be trusted to do their jobs with honesty and integrity,stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr.The citizens of Alabama should rest assured that the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate corruption at every level and hold accountable those officials who violate the publics trust and use their position for profit or gain., Public officials and employees are obligated to perform their duties and administer funds with integrity and according to requirements of the law, said Alabama Attorney General Marshall. 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. ACADEMIC CHALLENGE TEAM. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross, Alice S. LaCour, and Brett J. Talley are prosecuting the case. The agreement states Holladay will face a minimum sentence of no fewer than 30 months in prison. Deborah Holladay is the wife of Trey Holladay and was a teacher employed by the Athens City School District at the times investigated. Scholastic Inc. Published on July 22, 2022 at 8:08 am CDT. In a statement, Superintendent Eric Mackey said the state department had worked with investigators and prosecutors on the issue. 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. Details on the plea agreement were released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Montgomery on Thursday. WAFFs Madison Scarpino was at the meeting. Tutt is listed as a longtime friend of Trey Holladay in the indictment. However, the government agreed to drop more than 80 additional counts against Holladay most of which were various counts of wire fraud related to the conspiracy and dropped all charges against Holladays wife, who participated in the scheme. The state department told federal officials it had recouped funding from Limestone and Conecuh counties, but did not state the amounts. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. So far, the operators of the private schools have not faced charges for their roles, if any, in the scheme. Copyright 2021 WAFF. Fortunately, the U.S. Attorney, FBI, and OIG have committed investigators who, like us, are determined to make sure every taxpayer dollar is accounted for and every dollar intended for the classroom is spent on the classroom, he said. Josh Moon is an investigative reporter and featured columnist at the Alabama Political Reporter with years of political reporting experience in Alabama. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. As a result, the private schools obtained funds that they were not lawfully entitled to receive.. conspired to tell the state false numbers of students in their school systems, Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Reporter Josh Moon contributed to this report. Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr., who headed up the Athens online school, is set for trial on February 7, 2022. 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. Montgomery, Alabama On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, six individuals appeared in court after being indicted on charges related to the fraudulent enrollment of students in Alabama virtual schools, announced United States Attorney Louis V. Franklin, Sr., FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr., and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kori Smith of the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Inspector General. Another round of projects was set for summer 2010, at 21 schools. 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. Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay was placed on administrative leave after federal agents raided his home in June, 2020. April 19, 2023. None of the other individuals charged in the indictment remain affiliated with Athens City Schools in any manner. The Alabama department of education wanted defendants to repay $5.7 million paid to Athens City Schools for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. He is also listed as a friend of Trey Holladay in the indictment. Carter faces up to 20 years in prison in addition to fines and restitution. 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. He still faces 88 counts of wire fraud and 34 counts of aggravated identity theft. (STOCK) The trial date in a multi-million dollar fraud case against former Athens Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay and two others has been delayed until early 2022. Rick Carter, a former principal in Athens, was found guilty by a federal court jury earlier this year for his role in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing. Upon reviewing the allegations against Dr. Rick Carter, Athens City Schools has placed him on administrative leave until further notice. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. A fourth defendant, former Limestone County superintendent Tom Sisk, was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). The Board of Education will have a Special Called Meeting on Thursday, February 25, 2021, at 7:30 a.m. in the central office board room. We are an equal opportunity employer and educator who fully and actively supports equal access for all people regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin or disability. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. . You can email him at [emailprotected] or reach him via Twitter. A sentencing date has not been set for Holladay. Crusader. I hope that this indictment serves as a warning for others who might try to line their pockets with public funds., Public corruption remains the FBIs top criminal priority because public officials must be trusted to do their jobs with honesty and integrity, stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. The citizens of Alabama should rest assured that the FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate corruption at every level and hold accountable those officials who violate the publics trust and use their position for profit or gain., These so-called educators have been charged for preying on the schools that placed them in positions of trust to educate students and the students they promised to serve. According to a plea agreement finalized Thursday, Trey Holladay admitted that he, along with Thomas Michael Sisk, former superintendent of the Limestone County Schools system, conspired to tell the state false numbers of students in their school systems so that they could pocket additional state money. A federal grand jury indicted William Lee "Trey" Holladay III, 56, of Athens, the former Athens City superintendent, and former Limestone County Schools superintendent Thomas Michael Sisk, 55, of . 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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. If you want to plan the perfect spring picnic, food and drink are important, but its certainly not the only factor to consider. The various defendants then received, for theirown personal use, portions of the state money. Corkren and Tutt each faced a sentence of up to five years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. In the initial indictment, prosecutors said that the two school districts were improperly paid $7 million in the scheme, which Holladay, Sisk and four alleged codefendants diverted. SUPERINTENDENT. 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. April 27, 2023. This was accomplished by enrolling full time in-person students into their respective virtual schools. See WAFFs story below from October 2020 when the Athens City Board of Education removed Holladay from his role as Superintendent. The former superintendent of the Athens City Schools System on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the state by inflating the number of students enrolled in a virtual school. The indictment states the purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain greater state funding allocations through the Foundation Program than they would otherwise have been entitled to Athens City Schools would then use, directly and indirectly, portions of the excess money to fund the completion of capital projects, including, the new campus of Athens High School. April 20, 2023. NINETY-SIX HIGH SCHOOL. 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. Tom Sisk, who pleaded guilty for his role in the scheme, will serve 18 months in federal prison. These sentences may seem severe, but they are in accordance with the severity of the criminal acts these individuals committed.. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr. is currently set for trial on February 7, 2022. enewscourier.com . We will continue to hold high standards at every level from local schools to the state with the expectation that every public school dollar will be spent to support our children., Public officials and employees are obligated to perform their duties and administer funds with integrity and according to requirements of the law, said Alabama Attorney General Marshall. is a thirty-one-year veteran public school educator with twenty-seven years in educational leadership.He is in his fourth year as superintendent of the Athens City Schools system in Athens, AL. Corkren will pay $1.3 million. Advertisement. The private schools used in the scheme are almost entirely white. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Former Athens City Schools superintendent Trey Holladay has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a multiyear scheme to defraud the state. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Court records show on Tuesday Holladay changed his plea of not guilty to guilty for one count of conspiracy. 20Former Limestone County Superintendent Tom Sisk was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty on April 8, 2021 to conspiring to defraud the United States government. 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. Co-defendants Corkren, Tutt, and Sisk previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government. The indictment further alleges that the defendants went to various lengths to conceal the fraud from the state. The indictment states the purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain greater state funding allocations through the Foundation Program than they would otherwise have been entitled. A few years ago, some of the same people excusing Trump's recent indictment were celebrating Gov. 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.

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