Dive Brief:
- A jury returned a guilty verdict for Arise Academy School's superintendent and a board chair for taking bribes from a consultant for an unbid contract. The federal government is seeking around $421,000 in forfeitures — the amount of the consulting contract.
- Carl L. Robinson ran Global Educational Consultants. Shane K. Floyd was the superintendent, and Christopher D. Martin was chairman of the board. The bribe included cash and a trip to Las Vegas.
- Floyd, Martin, and Robinson could spend up to 10 years in prison for federal programs bribery and as many as five years for conspiracy. Floyd and Martin also got convictions of making false statements to the FBI, which carries up to five years. Sentencing has not been scheduled.
Dive Insight:
The school, set up to serve at-risk high school students, struggled with financial issues before it closed in 2010.
Presviously, Kristal Screven, also a board official for the school, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count. Her attorney is hopeful she'll avoid prison time for what he called "a misunderstanding of fiduciary responsibility."