William Richard Carter, Jr. is currently set for trial on February 7, 2022. The Athens City Schools Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Now, after months of a federal investigation, the Athens City School Board of Education unanimously approved a $250,000 separation agreement with Holladay. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Trey received a master's degree degree from West Alabama . In fact, as mentioned during the Justice Departments press conference, the indictment does not include any current Limestone County School employees. Holladay left the school district months after the FBI started investigating him in 2020. The agreement states Holladay will face a minimum sentence of no fewer than 30 months in prison. 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. The Board says they will begin the process and timeline for posting and selecting a new superintendent within the next few weeks. You can email him at [emailprotected] or follow him on Twitter. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. You can email him at [emailprotected] or reach him via Twitter. The elections are held on a first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even-numbered years effective with the 2018 election. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr. is currently set for trial on February 7, 2022. They stole from the children of Alabama, he said. 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 . According to a former lawmaker, the FBI and U.S. Department of Education were asking questions about other possible issues within Alabamas virtual schools as late as this fall. Holladay , . Court records show on Tuesday Holladay changed his plea of not guilty to guilty for one count of conspiracy. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. April 19, 2023. None of the other individuals charged in the indictment remain affiliated with Athens City Schools in any manner. 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. 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. Another round of projects was set for summer 2010, at 21 schools. According to the plea agreement, additional charges of wire fraud and identity theft against Holladay were dropped. 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. The school systems agreed to pay the consulting companies a percentage of the per-pupil funds. Now, after months of a federal investigation, the Athens City School Board of Education unanimously approved a $250,000 separation agreement with Holladay. Tutt will pay $259,000. The state department told federal officials it had recouped funding from Limestone and Conecuh counties, but did not state the amounts. Trey and Deborah Holladay released the following statement following the indictments release: We are a family of teachers and coaches. Wednesday, March 15, 2023 Print Edition St. Patrick's Day in Athens A Tuscaloosa County man mentioned more than 150 times in a federal indictment involving four local former educators received more. Board of Education members are elected to a four-year term. Each will have three years of supervised release after serving prison time. Landon Powell, Matt Williams, Hunter Dilworth, Ryan Brown, Trey Dyson and JK Love. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. In the court records, federal officials also said they will drop charges against Holladays wife, Deborah Holladay, who initially was charged with six counts of wire fraud. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan S. Ross, Alice S. LaCour, and Brett J. Talley are prosecuting the case. Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. All the while, the state reimbursed the Athens City Schools district and the Limestone County Schools district for the cost of supposedly educating these private school students. The first of the Measure PS projects were completed in summer 2009. He left that post in February of 2020. The four co-defendants each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to . The U.S. Attorney's Office in Montgomery has named two former school superintendents in an indictment. 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. Moving forward, we will be a transparent and accountable school system which provides the best educational experience we can for our students. 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. Holladay is accused of purposely scheming private school students and their parents out of millions of dollars for his personal gain. ACADEMIC CHALLENGE TEAM. Dr. Beth Taylor. In November 2008, 75% of voters approved Measure PS, a $235 million school bond measure, to provide for the renovation of schools. The various defendants then received, for their own personal use, portions of the state money. . Now a resident of Montgomery, Holladay pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Alabama State Department of Education. 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. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. These sentences may seem severe, but they are in accordance with the severity of the criminal acts these individuals committed.. The public schools in those counties are made up almost entirely of Black students. So far, the operators of the private schools have not faced charges for their roles, if any, in the scheme. 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. City of Pasadena Celebrates AAPI Heritage Month. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Reporter Josh Moon contributed to this report. Holladay was on leave from June 2020 until his last day with the district on Oct. 31, 2020. There is absolutely no way that we would do anything detrimental to the school system. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Co-defendants Corkren, Tutt, and Sisk previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government. 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. The students whose identities were used in the scheme had little to no connection to the public school districts, federal officials confirmed. Example video title will go here for this video. A federal judge granted the motion on Dec. 7. 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 . Jul. David Tutt was a resident of Marengo County. Upon reviewing the allegations against Dr. Rick Carter, Athens City Schools has placed him on administrative leave until further notice. She says following the statement, the board unanimously voted to keep Rick Carter on administrative leave. 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. Co-defendants Gregory Earl Corkren, David Webb Tutt, and Thomas Michael Sisk, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government. All rights reserved. The federal indictment claims that Holladay and his wife were the masterminds behind this plan. The private school parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. Five others were named in Tuesdays indictment. Published on May 25, 2021 at 2:25 pm CDT. School of Extended Educational Options (SEEO), http://www.pusd.org/education/sctemp/d3791dd2c7ae6f68b7dd64a4d6adcbf7/1208669480/District_Boundry_Map.pdf, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pomona_Unified_School_District&oldid=1149498594, Deputy Superintendent, Human Resources: Darren Knowles, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services: Lilia Fuentes, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Chief Financial Officer: Sandra Garcia, Assistant Superintendent, Pupil & Community Services: Fernando Meza, Fremont Academy of Engineering and Design, Lorbeer Middle School - California Distinguished School, 1999; National Blue Ribbon School, 19992000, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 16:31. Scroll to continue reading. TM & document.write(new Date().getFullYear()); The U.S. Attorneys Office made a motion to dismiss all pending charges against his wife on December 16 as well. The various defendants then received, for theirown personal use, portions of the state money. To learn more about The Alabama Education Lab and receive notifications about stories and events, sign up for its newsletter, Ed Chat. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. All sections in the city are zoned to an elementary, middle, and high school.[3]. However, over the course of several years, the individuals named in the indictment betrayed the trust of not only our citizens but our students, parents, and other teachers and administrators who continue to work diligently every day. Former Athens, Limestone superintendents face federal conspiracy, fraud charges; Carter placed on leave, ACS Board reads prepared statement at Thursdays special meeting, keeps Carter on leave, Fraud by Wire, Radio or Television (87 counts), Fraud with Identification Documents (35 counts), Fraud by Wire, Radio or Television (6 counts), Fraud by Wire, Radio or Television (85 counts), Whats old is new again: Joe Davis Stadium comes back to life ahead of HFC season-opener, Former FBI investigator gives insight on Texas shooter manhunt, FBI confirms law enforcement action taken at Athens City Schools superintendents home. Holladay faces up to five years in prison and large fines after pleading guilty. He left Limestone County Schools to become the director of Bristol, TN schools. Superintendent pleads guilty in fraud case. Advertisement. Athens, Alabama. 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. As a result of this, districts received payments from Alabamas Education Trust Fund as if the students actually attended public schools. Corkren faced an additional two-year sentence and up to $250,000 fine for the aggravated identity theft charge. W.L. Carter faces up to 20 years in prison in addition to fines and restitution. Alabamas community colleges have experienced an increase in enrollment by at least 5 percent each year since 2020. 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.". Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr., who headed up the Athens online school, is set for trial on February 7, 2022. 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. 'Trey' Holladay, Ed.D. A fourth defendant, former Limestone County superintendent Tom Sisk, was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison. The indictment also contains substantive wire fraud charges against Trey Holladay, Deborah Holladay, and Carter. Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay was placed on administrative leave after federal agents raided his home in June, 2020. Jordan Holladay Tristan Hudson Noah Ingle Andrew Kaminsky Stephen Kight Riley McDonald Jake Monroe . He still faces 88 counts of wire fraud and 34 counts of aggravated identity theft. Subscribe to EDU for a bi-weekly digest of articles.Privacy Policy, Scholastics blog abouteducation and learning. Six people, including two former superintendents, are named in the indictment. The Los Angeles teachers union's last strike was in 2019. 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 Hollaway was ordered to pay $2.9 million. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 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. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay and former Limestone County. All rights reserved. The federal investigation has been ongoing since that time. Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect. If youre thinking of altering your workout routine, youre probably looking for new exercises and equipment to help you reach your fitness goals. Scoops about Oxford City Schools . Rick Carter is an employee of the Athens City School District with some past duties including technology teacher and virtual programs coordinator. The investigation remains ongoing and confidential at the request of federal officials. Corkren will pay $1.3 million. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. The U.S. Department of Justice released an indictment Tuesday related to the investigation of a former Superintendent of Athens City Schools. 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. 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. In 1995 the school district bought the former Indian Hill Mall, a failing shopping center built in the 1960s, and redeveloped it into an educational, commercial and retail complex called The Village at Indian Hill.[1]. First Day of School 2023-2024. Funds allocated for education should be spent to educate our public school students. Dr. Trey Holladay and Deborah Holladay released the following joint statement. The system refers further inquiries about the matter to Dr. Holladay's legal counsel and the federal officials involved." . All rights reserved (About Us). The Plaintiffs, in this case, are students who prosecutors say had their identities stolen. The students continued to attend the brick-and-mortar private schools each day, they received instruction from employees of the private schools, and, after class, some played sports for their private schools. The Day's Scoop: Your daily email briefing on all things Alabama politics. (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. Additionally, Athens City Schools filed a motion for a protective order of education records in November. Copyright 2020 WAFF. Trey Holladay, the mastermind of the virtual school scam, was hit with a lengthy prison sentence and hefty fine. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, one of six defendants indicted on federal charges of conspiracy in the scheme, is charged with conspiracy and 88 counts of wire fraud. 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 . Corkren also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft. 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Trey Holladay is a Principal at Oxford City Schools based in Oxford, Alabama. Holladay now faces a maximum five-year prison sentence and has agreed to potential monetary penalties imposed by a judge, according to court records. He is also listed as a friend of Trey Holladay in the indictment. All six of the defendants are charged with conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. Trey Holladay. Those students continued to attend brick-and-mortar private schools each day, continued to participate in private school athletics and their parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. Page 2. The settlement also provides financial savings and more certainty for financial obligations under Holladays employment contract. All rights reserved (About Us). Courtesy photos This funding was used in part to fund. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent William "Trey" Holladay was indicted on one charge of Conspiracy and dozens of charges of Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. SCHOOL BOARD . 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.". We are a family of teachers and coaches. . The Board has not been informed of a date certain for the conclusion of the investigation. Holladay was one of three defendants sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson. 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. DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONS. Zwingli and the other reformers showed that engaging in debate about faith was intellectually progressive. WAFFs Madison Scarpino was at the meeting. 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 Athens City Board of Education voted 5-2 Wednesday to hire William "Trey" Holladay as superintendent contingent on contract approval.