GOODYEAR, Ariz — Incito Schools and co-founders April Black and Amanda Jellson have been indicted by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office after allegedly committing fraud to steal more than $500,000 from the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office.
Accused of forging teacher pay stubs to get grant money
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office filed charges against Incito Schools, Black and Jelleson. They are charged with one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices, two counts of theft over $25,000, forgery, and conspiracy.
According to Incito Schools website, the charter school has two campuses, one in Goodyear and another in Phoenix. Jelleson and Black are listed as executive directors of the schools.
According to court records, it’s believed they forged teacher pay stubs to get grant money from the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office to pay teachers, but teachers tell 12 News they never got the money.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office said it’s estimated they stole $567,802 between November 2016 and November 2017.
Former teachers of the charter schools, who spoke anonymously to 12 News because of the pending case, said they noticed discrepancies on their W-2s showing up to $8,000 they never got paid.
Judge allows co-founders to continue working at the schools
Both Black and Jelleson were arraigned in a court appearance Wednesday morning and entered not-guilty pleas.
The attorney representing both Black and Jelleson requested as part of their release orders the pair be allowed to continue working on-site at Incito Schools.
The judge is allowing both of the executive directors to continue their work duties on campus, but they are not allowed to be involved in any financial decisions or contact any of the victims.
Melissa Ho, the attorney representing Black and Jelleson, stated she had no comment on the charges at this time.
Attorney for Incito Schools says charges are 'unfounded'
12 News did contact Incito Schools' attorney regarding the charges the school has been indicted on.
Attorney Tim Eckstein said in a statement to 12 News the school doesn't have much information and calls the charges in the indictment "vague."
In part, Eckstein said:
"The State has not provided us with any additional information regarding the vague allegations in the indictment. Based on the little we know at present, Incito Schools believes the allegations in the indictment are unfounded."
Charter school board is ‘aware’ of allegations
The Arizona State Board of Charter Schools, which oversees the operations of charter schools in the state, released a statement to 12 News on the charges brought against Incito Schools and its co-founders.
It reads in part:
“The State Board and staff members are aware of the situation with Incito Schools. We are in the process of gathering information and determining potential next steps.”
A spokesperson for the board said they could not comment if Incito Schools was on the board’s radar before the indictment.
Researcher says there's a lack of accountability for charter schools
Dave Wells, who studies school funding as the research director at the Grand Canyon Institute, said charter school financials often fly under the radar.
“There’s not adequate accountability measures in there," Wells said.
Wells adds the issue is because of the minimal documentation that's required compared to what's required for public school districts.
"In a district setting, I don’t think you could pull this off at all to start with," Wells said. "Much less, have three or four years pass before it get caught.”
Audits are the biggest check and balance for charter schools.
Audit documents for Incito Schools filed with the state charter board did recognize misstatements of revenue in 2017.
Last year's audit on Incito Schools also found a lack of documentation for items purchased on school debit cards.
The audit states: "In many instances, the same individual who approved the purchase, made the purchase and received the items purchased."
Wells said the charges filed against Incito Schools by the attorney general's office are examples of how some charter school operators don't follow standards taxpayers would expect, which is why he'd like to see changes made by the state legislature.
"We would like to have tools to be able to have them document that when they do spend money that they’re spending it at a fair market value and they’re getting the kind of value and return that we would expect of a district school," Wells said.
Ultimately, Wells adds, money lost isn't helping students.
“The thing is money that’s not going to the classroom is usually not helping benefit the kid," Wells said.