Holladay was on leave from June 2020 until his last day with the district on Oct. 31, 2020. The federal investigation has been ongoing since that time. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Copyright 2021 WAFF. The system refers further inquiries about the matter to Dr. Holladay's legal counsel and the federal officials involved." . Thursday night the Athens City School Board announced they are going forward in making changes in the districts leadership. NASAs SpaceX Crew-5 Astronauts Visits Marshall Space Flight Center, Mental Health Awareness Month: Erasing the stigma of mental illness, Athens City Schools approves separation agreement with former superintendent, $250,000 payment, Limestone County Schools Superintendent Tom Sisk heading to Bristol, TN Board of Education. The following statement was read by Superintendent Beth Patton: The Athens City Schools community is shocked and very concerned to read Tuesdays release from the U.S. Attorneys office. There is absolutely no way that we would do anything detrimental to the school system. In the court records, federal officials also said they will drop charges against Holladays wife, Deborah Holladay, who initially was charged with six counts of wire fraud. Trey Holladay is a Principal at Oxford City Schools based in Oxford, Alabama. Former Athens superintendent, two others sentenced in virtual school case Holladay faces up to five years in prison and large fines after pleading guilty. Thompson noted that all of the private schools utilized in the scheme were located in the Black Belt region. Moving forward, we will be a transparent and accountable school system which provides the best educational experience we can for our students. It goes on to allege, "It was a purpose of the conspiracy for Trey Holladay, Deborah Holladay, Carter, Corkren, Tutt, and Sisk to obtain, directly and indirectly, for their own personal use, portions of the increased revenue generated for ACS, LCS, and CCS by the fraudulent enrollment of private school students in the ACS, LCS, and CCS virtual schools.". Date: 8/14/2023. Co-defendant William Richard Carter, Jr. is currently set for trial on February 7, 2022. Athens City School Superintendent Trey Holladay was placed on administrative leave after federal agents raided his home in June, 2020. The school systems agreed to pay the consulting companies a percentage of the per-pupil funds. He is one of six state educators accused of enrolling those private school students into their virtual classes to get their tax dollars. Any defendant convicted of wire or mail fraud faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, as well as substantial monetary penalties and restitution. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. He faces a maximum prison sentence of five years along with substantial monetary penalties. Additionally, any defendant convicted of aggravated identity theft could receive a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence on each count. A former Athens school superintendent has pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the Alabama State Department of Education by falsely inflating the number of students enrolled in public virtual schools. To learn more about The Alabama Education Lab and receive notifications about stories and events, sign up for its newsletter, Ed Chat. Published on December 17, 2021 at 7:52 am CST. Trey received a master's degree degree from West Alabama . Former Athens City Schools Superintendent William "Trey" Holladay was indicted on one charge of Conspiracy and dozens of charges of Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. His previous experience includes system-wide administrator, high school principal, elementary principal, assistant principal, athletic director, classroom teacher, and head . Each will have three years of supervised release after serving prison time. Its just wrong, Opinion | Sen. Jay Hovey may have meant well, but he was wrong. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Former Athens Superintendent William Lee "Trey" Holladay is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty for conspiracy in December. All rights reserved. Page 2. He faces up to 20 years in prison. The defendants skimmed the state money through direct cash payments and payments to third-party contractors owned by the various co-conspirators. Athens had experienced a similar uptick in revenue the last five years. According to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office on December 16, Holladay admitted that he and co-defendant Thomas Michael Sisk conspired to inflate the number of students enrolled at Athens City Schools and Limestone County Schools. The FBI started investigating Holladays home in June 2020. The mastermind of Alabamas virtual school enrollment scam was sentenced Thursday to a half-decade in federal prison. The former superintendent of the Athens City Schools System on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the state by inflating the number of students enrolled in a virtual school. The Athens City Schools Board of Education held a special meeting Thursday at 7:30 a.m. Details on the plea agreement were released by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Montgomery on Thursday. The private school parents continued to pay tuition to the private schools. Athens, Alabama. In fact, the indictment alleged, the Holladays were simply being paid for the phony transcripts of private school students. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. According to a plea agreement finalized Thursday, Trey Holladay admitted that he, along with Thomas Michael Sisk, former superintendent of the Limestone County Schools system, conspired to tell the state false numbers of students in their school systems so that they could pocket additional state money. In a statement, Superintendent Eric Mackey said the state department had worked with investigators and prosecutors on the issue. FBI confirms 'law enforcement action' taken at Athens City Schools Corkren will pay $1.3 million. It is located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, and is the third-largest school district in Los Angeles County. Former North Alabama superintendents to be sentenced in July The various defendants then received, for their own personal use, portions of the state money. Two more of his co-conspirators will join him for at least a portion of that time. Upon reviewing the allegations against Dr. Rick Carter, Athens City Schools has placed him on administrative leave until further notice. Former Alabama school superintendent sentenced in school fraud case This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. - Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay pleaded guilty in a multi-million dollar virtual academy fraud scheme. The Alabama department of education wanted defendants to repay $5.7 million paid to Athens City Schools for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. David Tutt was a resident of Marengo County. The systems received state funds for those students. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to fraudulently enroll students in public virtual schools and then falsely report those students to the Alabama State Department of Education. Scoops about Oxford City Schools . The indictment states the purpose of the conspiracy was to obtain greater state funding allocations through the Foundation Program than they would otherwise have been entitled. ATHENS, Ala. (WAFF) - Former Athens superintendent, William Lee Trey Holladay has entered a guilty plea for a conspiracy charge. Additionally, Athens City Schools filed a motion for a protective order of education records in November. Ill write about them over and over again. In 1995 the school district bought the former Indian Hill Mall, a failing shopping center built in the 1960s, and . Alabama teachers, ex-football coach indicted in education fraud case Former Athens City Schools superintendent William L. "Trey" Holladay III on Thursday received the maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and ordered to pay $2.9 million in . Now a resident of Montgomery, Holladay pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the Alabama State Department of Education. Terry Holliday - Superintendent - Iredell Statesville Schools - LinkedIn That is completely unacceptable, said Kori Smith, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector Generals Southeastern Regional Office. DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONS. All sections in the city are zoned to an elementary, middle, and high school.[3]. W.L. Assistant Superintendent at Iredell-Statesville Schools Statesville, NC. The former superintendent of the Athens City Schools System on Thursday pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to defraud the state by inflating the number of students enrolled in a virtual school. WAFFs Madison Scarpino was at the meeting. The charges against us are unfounded and will be vigorously defended. The public schools in those counties are made up almost entirely of Black students. Trey Holladay. The Day's Scoop: Your daily email briefing on all things Alabama politics. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. Former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, his wife and former Limestone County Schools Superintendent Tom Sisk are among those named in a federal. Alabama Board of Education Vice President Wayne Reynolds told AL.com that the sentences were justified. Three former Alabama school employees ordered to serve years in federal Published on May 25, 2021 at 2:25 pm CDT. W.L. 'Trey' Holladay | EDU - Scholastic APRs Josh Moon first reported about the FBIs investigation into Holladay in August when he reported that in less than three years, Limestones general fund budget swelled from a reserve balance of around $2 million to now more than $20 million. Holladays tenure as superintendent will end on October 31. As a result, the private schools obtained funds that they were not lawfully entitled to receive.. Former Athens superintendent pleads guilty, settles conspiracy case In his sentencing order on Thursday, federal judge Myron Thompson noted that the now-felons preyed upon some of the poorest school districts in Alabama, diverting hundreds of thousands of public school dollars from Alabama public schools and sending them instead to mostly white private schools that were operating in predominantly Black counties. The settlement also provides financial savings and more certainty for financial obligations under Holladays employment contract. The high number of counts, a total of of 127, is because each alleged instance of fraudulent enrollment and identity theft is a separate count. Superintendent Trey Holladay is shown in a photo on the Athens City Schools website. Former Limestone County Superintendent Tom Sisk was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on Tuesday, fined $15,000 and ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution. As Attorney General, I am committed to stand together with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated,and that appropriate action is taken.". The Los Angeles teachers union's last strike was in 2019. As Attorney General, I am committed to stand together with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated, and that appropriate action is taken.. Carters motion for a new trial was rejected by Judge Thompson. Now, after months of a federal investigation, the Athens City School Board of Education unanimously approved a $250,000 separation agreement with Holladay. The investigation remains ongoing and confidential at the request of federal officials. Crusader. Five others were named in Tuesdays indictment. In the four months that the investigation has been underway, officials within the school system say they have fully cooperated with a federal investigation, and, per the superintendents contract, has continued to pay Holladays salary and related benefits. A trial date had been set for September 13th in Montgomery for former Athens City Schools Superintendent Trey Holladay, his wife Deborah Holladay and Rick Carter, director of innovative. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. All three men will also face three years of supervised release at the end of those sentences and will pay hefty fines. . Former Athens, Limestone superintendents indicted for virtual-education William Richard Carter, Jr. is currently set for trial on February 7, 2022. Officials say this settlement payment resolves and eliminates any further compensation as well as other expenses which may have otherwise been obliged to pay related to the matter. Jordan Holladay Tristan Hudson Noah Ingle Andrew Kaminsky Stephen Kight Riley McDonald Jake Monroe . Former Athens City School superintendent pleads guilty to defrauding state The indictment further alleges that the defendants went to various lengths to conceal the fraud from the state.Such lengths included: creating fake report cards, manufacturing false addresses for the students of the private schools who lived outside of Alabama, and submitting falsified course completion reports to the state department of education. This spring, Le Creuset has introduced an exciting new shade thats already selling fast: shallot, a soft lavender with pink and slight gray undertones. The U.S. Department of Justice released an indictment Tuesday related to the investigation of a former Superintendent of Athens City Schools. In doing so, they stole children and parents identities and bribed administrators of private schools.