$225,000,000 In ‘Hideous’ Fraud Schemes Found Across US Schools, Report Allegeshttps://dailycaller.com/2026/07/09/school-fraud-sfof-open-books-report/A new report from the State Financial Officers Foundation and Open the Books uncovered nearly 90 alleged fraud schemes involving roughly $225 million across American schools since 2019.
The report alleges that school districts have been embezzling funds, creating fake invoices and then pocketing the money, lying about student enrollment numbers to collect more aid, bid-rigging and receiving kickbacks.
The SFOF and Open the Books reviewed the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s semiannual report to Congress between 2019 and 2026 — finding that fraud has taken place in 24 states and Puerto Rico.
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Indiana schools received $44 million more funding from the state than they should have by inflating their enrollment numbers between 2016 and 2018, according to the report. Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy faced fraud schemes from four individuals within the educational institution including the founders, a director of one school, the superintendents, and an operations manager.
The four directed millions of dollars to fraudulent companies controlled by the founder and they also fired an employee who attempted to inform the state education department about the fraud. ...
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In Florida’s Broward County, Public Schools Information Officer Anthony Hunter allegedly steered $17 million of taxpayer funds to a friend’s business without going through the required bidding process and then personably benefitted from the funds, according to the report.
From 2015 to 2019 Hunter allegedly guided the funds to David Allen, a Georgia resident, and his company Education Consultants, Inc, according to the report. A statewide grand jury indicted Hunter in 2021 for bypassing the bidding process for school equipment and giving business to his friend.
However, in 2024 a judge dismissed the indictment arguing that the state grand jury did not have the jurisdiction over the case because the alleged crimes only occurred in Boward County Florida, according to the report.
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Chief operating officer of Houston Independent School District, Brain Busby, and Contractor Anthony Hutchinson were indicted by the Department of Justice including five other school officials who pled guilty to conspiracy charges. The five individuals conspired with Busby and Hutchinson by accepting bribes, per SFOF and Open the Books’ report. Busby and Hutchinson attempted to interfere with the federal criminal probe when they heard it was happening. Authorities searched the two individuals’ homes in 2020 and discovered $186,000 in cash to be forfeited.
I think Dante consigned defrauders of the innocent to a fairly deep ring in his Inferno, deservedly so.
