Charter school leaders charged with stealing over $200,000 in public funds

[n2doc]

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
June 12, 2010

The leaders of a high-performing San Fernando Valley charter school were charged this week with stealing more than $200,000 in public funds through embezzlement, money laundering and filing false tax returns, among other alleged crimes.

Eugene Selivanov, 38, and his wife, Tatyana Berkovich, 33, have denied any wrongdoing, according to their attorney.

An arraignment scheduled for Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court was postponed until next month.

The couple faces 38 felony and misdemeanor counts for alleged actions from 2004 through 2009 in their operation of Ivy Academia, a charter school with test scores that place it in the state's top 30% of schools.

The legal troubles are the latest twist in the saga of two Russian immigrants who combined their passions for education and business with their charter school of 1,100 students.

more

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-charter-20100612,0,2904092.story

[Angry Dragon]

1. I am glad these charter schools can operate

without a lot of over-sight.

The government has made it easier for these schools to run amok.

[donco6]

2. Crooks.

Here's what they were doing. They have both a profit and non-profit arm. The profit arm was their day-care (before/after school). They used the nonprofit to pay the rent on all the buildings, including the day care. Then they charged money for the day care, which they just kept as profit. They didn't have to offset the profit with rent money they should have been paying.

[Hannah Bell]

4. boy, that's an elegantly simple way to steal, easily possible in every state with charters.

and liable to go unnoticed forever if the thieves don't get too greedy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Who says merit pay is a bad thing?