Federal authorities are probing a $1 million fraud scheme that has left numerous unqualified educators in Texas classrooms.
Vincent Grayson, who used to be a teacher and basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston, has been indicted in connection with the purported cheating scheme.
Grayson (illustrated below) is characterized by prosecutors as the mastermind of the operation, alongside Nicholas Newton, the assistant principal of the school and the alleged impersonator.
Prosecutors assert that over 200 educators compensated Newton to take the state certification exam on their behalf. Currently, these educators are dispersed across classrooms throughout Texas.
Local and state education officials are hustling to locate the teachers who have engaged in dishonesty.
“The most crucial aspect for me is that the masterminds have been uncovered and are being removed from our local school district … and the reality that they held influential positions there, admired by the students, is the most egregious element of this offense,” stated Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg to reporters on Monday.
“They were unworthy of the children’s admiration, and I believe it leaves the children feeling deceived, unsure of who to trust.”
LaShonda Roberts, assistant principal at Jack Yates Senior High School, was also taken into custody for her involvement as “a recruiter and referer who enlisted numerous individuals seeking the impersonator’s services.”
Two additional individuals, not part of the district’s staff, have also been charged.
The full scale of the fraud may never come to light, but we know that at least 400 exams were taken, with at least 200 educators falsely certified,” Ogg commented.
Prosecutors indicated that all five defendants face two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity, in addition to one felony count related to money laundering, as the scheme is said to have netted over $300,000.
The Texas teaching scandal bears similarities to a cheating controversy involving registered nurses who purchased diplomas without completing any coursework. This scandal impacted hundreds of nurses at healthcare facilities across the United States.