Tutoring firm owners plead guilty to defrauding Dallas and Fort Worth ISDs of nearly $3M
Florine Mati and David Mbugua used to run tutoring companies in the Dallas area.
On Tuesday, they pleaded guilty to defrauding the Dallas and Fort Worth school districts out of about $3 million worth of tutoring. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney accepted their pleas: guilty to one count each of conspiracy to make false, fictitious or fraudulent claims. Mati and Mbugua each face up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, and they’ll have to pay restitution. They’ll be sentenced in February.
Mati, a former DISD teacher, and Mbugua formed four tutoring companies a few years ago: Diverse Learning, Wise Links (also known as Champions Mind), Boost Academy and Avenue Academy. They received state approval to tutor low-income students at schools that had failed to meet federal academic standards. The outside tutoring was required by the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The former business partners did not appear to make eye contact or talk to each other Tuesday morning, when they entered their guilty pleas in U.S. District Court. They’re being held in custody.
Read more: http://educationblog.dallasnews.com/2014/10/tutoring-firm-owners-plead-guilty-to-defrauding-dallas-and-fort-worth-isds.html/