Fraud at Chicago Public Schools: Embezzlement and ghost students

The barren desert known as the Chicago Public Schools continues to be an embarrassment for students, parents, and taxpayers.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Chicago Public Schools technology coordinator stole more than $400,000 in school funds before fleeing to Mexico, where he was later found dead, according to a just-released Chicago Board of Education Office of the Inspector General annual report.

The technology coordinator — who is not named in the 43-page report — created "fake vendors," with much of the money going into his own personal bank account, according to the report. Over one 22-month period, the coordinator received more than $144,00 in suspect reimbursements, according to the report. Most of the fake vendors were "either classmates of the technology coordinator when he attended the high school or were students at the school" when the coordinator worker there, the report states.

During the course of the investigation, the technology coordinator withdrew $70,000 from a personal bank account, refused on advice of counsel to speak with the inspector general's office, resigned from CPS, fled to California and was found dead in Tijuana, Mexico, a short time later, according to the report.

So far no charges have been filed.

More:

In a separate case, two CPS employees — including a high school principal — enrolled "ghost students" in an attempt to qualify for more staff.

The report mentions another atrocity, in which CPS employees permitted a vendor to supply "inferior, substitute products," costing taxpayers $100,000.

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