(The Center Square) - The founders of Epic Charter Schools and its former chief financial officer are facing a long list of charges, including embezzlement of state funds of up to $22 million.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation arrested school founders Ben Harris and David Chaney, and former CFO Josh Brock on Thursday, according to a news release from the agency. In addition to the charge of embezzlement of state funds, they are charged with racketeering, obtaining money by false pretense, conspiracy to commit a felony, violation of the Oklahoma Computer Crimes Act, submitting false documents to the state and unlawful proceeds.
The initial investigation began in 2013 after the Oklahoma State Department of Education filed a complaint about dual enrollment. A state lawmaker raised questions about the misappropriation of state funds in 2019, according to OSBI.
The investigation revealed “a complicated criminal enterprise emerged that involved among other things: co-mingling of funds, excessive and unnecessary management fees, the use of Oklahoma tax dollars in California, political influence, concealment of profits, submission of false invoices, and the illegal use of employees,” OSBI said in its news release.
“This has been a very complex and arduous investigation with many roadblocks causing delays in getting to the truth,” said Ricky Adams, OSBI director, in a statement. “Harris, Chaney and Brock came up with a ‘get rich quick scheme’ that lined their pockets with tax dollars that were to be spent for the benefit of Oklahoma students. The OSBI criminal investigation unraveled the intricate scheme layer by layer, in spite of a lack of cooperation, legal obstacles and delay tactics.”
Harris, Chaney and Brock took taxpayer money intended for children’s education, said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister.
“It is unconscionable that the alleged deceitfulness of the school’s founders made them multimillionaires at the expense of taxpayers,” Hofmeister said in a statement. “This fraud was allowed to happen because of cracks in state law that still exist today. It is indisputable that they were able to exploit open and obvious weaknesses in the law for their own personal gain. This saga also highlights why there is no room for a for-profit management school in public education. Epic’s management turned the purpose of education on its head and incentivized cash over kids.”
The three men each have a $250,000 bond.
Earlier this week, the state education department cited Epic Charter Schools for fudging attendance records to receive thousands of dollars in state funds and for improperly handing out millions in bonuses. Those allegations are separate from the charges filed against Harris, Chaney and Brock, Hofmeister said.
The charter school system is addressing those issues, according to a statement from current Superintendent Bart Banfield.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News