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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Fraud in Focus
K–12 Fraud Investigative Results for Fiscal Years 2020–2025
This Fraud in Focus report presents the results of the U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations into K–12 fraud for fiscal years (FY)
2020–2025, providing an overview of investigative results, fraud focus areas, the bad actors
committing this fraud, and allegations of K–12 fraud received via the OIG Hotline portal.
Total
Investigations 130 Monetary Results1 $70,880,184
Criminal & Civil Suspension & Administrative
Outcomes2 98 Debarment Referrals3 74 Referrals/Actions4 13
OIG K–12 Fraud Investigations Overview
ED is statutorily responsible for administering more than 100 programs and disbursing
billions of dollars each year to State and local educational agencies, schools, organizations
and entities to help educate our nation’s students. But each year, criminals target these
programs, including special education, vocational rehabilitation, and Title I funds to school
districts serving low-income families. These bad actors abuse ED programs and intentionally
misuse and embezzle ED funds aimed at helping students, schools, and teachers.
Since its inception, the OIG has remained dedicated to combating fraud at the K–12 level.
These investigations are particularly challenging compared to other types of Federal
education fraud because K–12 funds are decentralized across thousands of independent
school districts. Most funding flows from ED to State educational agencies, which then
distribute resources to local educational agencies or school districts and individual
schools. Federal dollars are often blended with State and local funds and tracked through
localized bookkeeping practices—which makes oversight more complex. As such, to
help identify K–12 fraud, the OIG relies heavily on tips and complaints from individuals
within school systems, as well as findings from OIG audit-related reviews, ED program
reviews, reviews by State and local oversight entities, and results from Single Audits.
1
Monetary Results: The OIG captures monetary results during the course of our investigations. Monetary results
include restitution orders, fines, forfeitures, seizures, settlements, judgments, recoveries, and administrative savings.
2
Criminal & Civil Outcomes: Criminal outcomes include criminal convictions, plea agreements, pre-trial diversions, or
deferred prosecutions. These outcomes are preceded by criminal charges and arrests. Civil outcomes are the results
of settlements between parties or civil judgments.
3
Suspension & Debarment Referrals: Number of referrals the OIG made to ED for appropriate action.
4
Administrative Referrals/Action: Number of referrals the OIG made to ED for appropriate action following an
OIG investigation.
August 31, 2026
Areas of K–12 Fraud Investigations
During FYs 2020–2025, OIG K–12 investigations fell primarily within five categories: (1)
charter school fraud, (2) public corruption, (3) fraud involving programs authorized under
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student
Succeeds Act (ESSA), (4) tutoring and academic support program fraud, and (5) fraud
involving emergency relief programs. See the table and text below for more detail.
34% 35%
35%
30% 28%
25%
25% 22%
20% 18% 19%
15% 13% 12%
10%
6%
5%
0%
Charter Public ESSA Fraud Emergency Tutoring/
School Fraud Corruption Relief Aid Academic
Fraud Support
Program
Legend Investigations (%) Monetary Recoveries (%) Fraud
Note that the percentages for cases and recoveries do not tally to 100 percent, as for this focus period, some
of our K–12 fraud investigations fell into more than one category.
Charter School Fraud
OIG investigations into charter school fraud identified the misuse of
Federal education program funds, such as Charter School Program
34% 18%
funds. This includes embezzlement, inflated student enrollment Cases Monetary
numbers, ghost students or staff, and fake invoicing schemes. Recoveries
Public Corruption
Public corruption encompasses a range of conduct and crimes
that involve a breach of public trust or abuse of position by school
officials or employees using their position for personal gain, often 28% 22%
with the help of accomplices. OIG investigations into public Cases Monetary
corruption at the K–12 level found bribery and kickback schemes, Recoveries
irregularities in contract awards, and criminal conflicts of interest.
ESEA/ESSA Fraud
This includes ESSA Title I—Improving the Academic
Achievement of the Disadvantaged, which delivers financial 25% 6%
assistance to school districts and schools with high numbers
Cases Monetary
or percentages of children from low-income families. OIG
investigations into these programs identified fraud involving
Recoveries
embezzlement, misuse of funds, and false representation.
Emergency Relief Aid Fraud
From 2018–2019, Congress provided billions of dollars in emergency
funding to help K–12 schools and school districts meet the
educational needs of students affected by hurricanes and wildfires.
And from 2020–2021, Congress provided billions in funding to
13% 35%
assist States, K–12 schools, and school districts in meeting their Cases Monetary
needs and those of their students affected by the coronavirus Recoveries
pandemic. OIG investigations into these programs predominately
involved false claims, mismanagement, or misuse of funds.
Tutoring, Academic Support Program Fraud
Federally funded education programs such as the 21st Century
Community Learning Centers program provide academic enrichment, 12% 19%
tutoring, and other activities during non-school hours (such as
before school, after school, and during the summer), primarily for Cases Monetary
students and families in high-poverty, low-performing schools. Recoveries
OIG investigations into these programs identified fraud involving
embezzlement, ghost students, and false invoicing schemes.
Who Commits K–12 Fraud?
OIG investigations have revealed that individuals who commit K–12 fraud frequently operate
within the school system itself. These perpetrators have included State Superintendents of
Education, charter school leaders, district superintendents and other high-ranking school
officials, and school employees at all levels, as well as school vendors. K–12 fraud is often
enabled by weak internal controls and insufficient separation of duties—for example, when a
single employee is responsible for purchasing items, receiving them, and paying the invoices for
those items, there is no independent verification that goods or services were actually received.
The absence of proper checks and balances, or the concentration of too much authority in one
person, creates an opportunity for misconduct. Under these conditions, fraud, embezzlement,
and public corruption can occur—sometimes involving millions of taxpayer dollars.
Below are several examples of OIG K–12 investigations completed during FYs 2020–2025,
revealing fraud committed by trusted partners in various roles in schools and school districts.
State In 2021, the former Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Education
Superintendent was sentenced to prison for conspiracy and fraud. The former Secretary
and others used their positions to benefit and enrich themselves with
Federal funds, specifically by awarding contracts through a corrupt
bidding process. This included a $95,000 professional services contract
that the Puerto Rico Department of Education awarded to a contractor
with close ties to the former Secretary despite being unqualified
under the terms of the contract request for proposal. Read more.
School District In 2022, four former school officials, including two former Alabama
Superintendents school district superintendents, were sentenced to prison for
their roles in a $10 million fraud scheme involving Alabama’s
virtual school. The conspirators fraudulently enrolled students in
virtual public schools and then falsely reported those students
to the Alabama State Department of Education. Read more.
Charter School In 2020, former executives of Celerity Educational Group, a
Officials nonprofit company that owned and operated charter schools in
California, were sentenced for their roles in a $2.5 million fraud
scheme. The executives misappropriated about $2.5 million in
school funds that they used for personal luxuries. Read more.
High-Ranking In 2023, the former president of the Madison District Public Schools
School Official Board of Education in Michigan and a business owner were sentenced
to prison for their roles in kickback scheme. The former president used
his position to award some $3.1 million in school maintenance and
construction contracts to the business owner, who was his long-time
friend, in exchange for a financial kickback. The business owner admitted
to making more than $560,000 in payments to the former president,
which the former president spent on personal luxuries. Read more.
Other School In 2024, a former employee of Silver River Mentoring and Instruction—
Staff an alternative school for middle and high school students in
Florida—was sentenced for stealing more than $616,700. From
2016 through 2023, the employee handled the payroll at the
school and gave herself 137 unauthorized paychecks by logging
false information into the school’s accounting software and
receiving the paychecks through wire transfers. Read more.
Vendor In 2021, the president and other employees of Creative Educational
and Psychological Services, a tutoring services company in Puerto Rico,
were sentenced to prison or probation for their roles in a $24 million
fraud scheme. The conspirators charged the PRDE for claiming tutoring
services never provided and creating false attendance and other records
and documents to support their fraudulent efforts. Read more.
Emergency In 2025, the former senior director of fiscal services for the Magnolia
School District in California—where 81 percent of its students are
Relief Aid
classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged— was sentenced
to prison for embezzling more than $16.4 million from the district
that received ESSER program funds.The former official made
unauthorized payments to himself with district funds. Read more.
Additional information and summaries of other OIG investigations can be found in our
Semiannual Reports to Congress and in the press releases section of our website.
OIG Hotline Complaints (FYs 2020–2025)
The OIG Hotline is available 24/7 for anyone who knows of or suspects fraud, waste, abuse,
mismanagement, or violations of laws and regulations involving ED programs or funds,
including fraud at the K–12 level. During FYs 2020–2025, the OIG received approximately
6,000 complaints to its Hotline each year, which included some 555 complaints related
to K–12 programs and operations. As you see in the table below, Hotline complaints
involving K–12 fraud increased in FY 2020, driven largely by the infusion of pandemic
relief aid that flowed to States and school districts. Hotline complaints that did not result
in an OIG criminal or civil investigation were forwarded to ED for appropriate handling
or to another Federal or State agency or OIG with jurisdiction over the program.
K–12 Hotline Complaints (FYs 2020–2025)
120 116
98
100 94
Complaints
80 70 86
76
60
40
20
15
0
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
20 20 20 20 20 20 20
Years
Learn More
About the OIG and OIG Investigation Services.
About OIG investigations into K–12 fraud in our
Semiannual Reports to Congress and press releases,
news interviews, and our Eye on ED podcasts.
About indicators of K–12 fraud and other free
materials to help identify and report fraud to the OIG.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General
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