![]() “The audit has been handed over to all levels of law enforcement – both state and federal,” Byrd pointed out. While Harris and Chaney have not been fined directly, both men are subject of open criminal investigations. These audit findings were released last fall to “sound the alarm there was $125 million in questioned costs and an estimated $100 million going out in fiscal year 2021.”Īs a result of the audit, the State Board of Education has issued fines and fees to Epic Charter Schools totaling about $21 million. 1, 2020 “to warn the public and the legislators that millions of federal and state taxpayer dollars were being directed to personally profit two owners of an education management company,” Byrd said. Part one of the state audit report was issued Oct. Kevin Stitt from requesting the State Auditor & Inspector’s Office in July 2019 to conduct an investigative audit of Epic Charter Schools and all its related entities. “In response, the founders spent $2.5 million, in a two-month period, in public school funds from tax dollars on TV commercials and social media ads to overcome the negative press,” Byrd related. ![]() In summer 2019, the OSBI issued separate search warrants accusing co-founders Harris and Chaney of fraud, embezzlement, forgery, and racketeering. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Epic for more than six years. She referred to co-founders Ben Harris and David Chaney’s strong political influence through campaign donations and lobbying efforts. “How did two business owners walk away with $81 million in taxpayer dollars as their income and an additional $141 million under the guise of ‘student learning’ funds?” Oklahoma’s first female state auditor asked.īyrd questioned whether there was inadequate legislative oversight over the past six years of Epic and its management company. In a 30-minute presentation to Yukon Chamber of Commerce members, Byrd described how Epic’s co-founders had allegedly funneled state and federal taxpayer money through their private for-profit company. “A school is never designed to benefit private interest.” ![]() “There is no such thing as ‘government-funded’ – it is all taxpayer funding,” said Byrd, Oklahoma’s 13 th state auditor and inspector. Oklahoma State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd shared details of the investigative performance audit during a Sept. Yukon business and community leaders learned about an intensive state audit alleging financial mismanagement by Epic Charter Schools’ co-founders.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |