The Chicago Sun-Times reports that federal investigators are probing the finances of politically-connected Gulen schools in Illinois.
“A clout-heavy charter-school firm that operates four taxpayer-funded schools in Chicago is suspected of defrauding the government by funneling more than $5 million in federal grants to insiders and “away from the charter schools,” according to court records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
“No criminal charges have been filed in the ongoing investigation of Des Plaines-based Concept Schools, which has built a network of powerful supporters, including Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
“According to the newly obtained court documents filed by law-enforcement authorities, the company, its contractors and “many” of its privately run, taxpayer-financed charter schools across the Midwest “engaged in a scheme to defraud a federal program….
“Concept has 30 schools in Illinois and five other states, including four Chicago Public Schools-funded campuses with a total of about 2,200 students. CPS funds them under school-choice laws that provide for government funding of certain privately operated schools….
“Concept president Sedat Duman signed E-Rate certification forms for schools, court records show. They also show Stephen Draviam, a computer consultant in Ohio, told investigators he was picked to do grant-funded work for Concept’s schools without having to submit written bids.
“Huseyin “Shane” Ulker, as Concept’s chief information officer, “established an invoicing scheme” involving Draviam’s company, passing along E-Rate funds to three businesses found to be “affiliated with” Ulker, according to the court records.
“Ulker deposited money into the account of one of the three companies before “a wire transfer of $20,000 was made to a bank account at the Bank of Asya in Turkey,” wrote Geoffrey Wood, the special agent from the federal Education Department’s inspector general’s office who filed the search-warrant affidavit.
“Founded in 1999 by Turkish immigrants, Concept has ties to the influential Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who now lives in Pennsylvania and is wanted in his native Turkey after falling out with that country’s leader.”
Remind me why it is okay for foreign nationals to operate community public schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Conversion of public funds on this scale occurs only when politicians who direct the funds are being paid under the table.
Let’s see if the investigation follow the money back up the pipeline to the sluice-bags who diverted the flow.
@Sharonoak Sharon Higgins does a great job keeping track of Gulen linked charters throughout the US http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/p/list-of-us-gulen-schools.html
This is a good time to mention that the Illinois State Charter School Commission overruled the CPS Board of Education’s decision to deny a charter for two Gulen schools, imposing them on the City of Chicago and even ordering the people of Chicago to fund them.
Gulen is a criminal in Turkey. He can’t return to Turkey. Bet Gulen is getting huge “tits for tats” by greedy American politicians for his slime. Plus, he is destroying American Public School Education — the aim of the DEFORMERS. This is more than disgusting.
“The Shadow Knows”
The Shadow knows ’bout Gulen schools
Gulen books and Gulen rules
The Shadow knows ’bout Gulen money
Gulen milk and Gulen honey
We don’t know, but The Shadow knows
‘Bout exiled Turks in the Poconos
LA now has 11 Gulen Charter Schools, called the Magnolia Schools. Although the same sort of ‘cooking of the books’ occurred here, they were able to get a judge to ok opening school last year despite that the BoE tried to shut them down. Then Gulen officials hired the cagey charter Queen, Caprice Young, and she seems to have cleaned up their act enough that the last 3 new Gulen schools got the pass from the BoE.
It is incomprehensible how this comes about with the permission, encouragement, of the US officials of three of our Presidents. How can billionaire Fethullah Gulen keep importing Middle Eastern men to run these schools, with little to no oversight of their behaviors while here on Green cards, and all at the expense of the US taxpayers?
Been there, done that, and Gulan schools still prosper and profit. Ah, its good to be a foreigner, living in Pennsylvania, proliferating charter schools across America, isn’t it? The man is made of teflon, and the government of America is bought and corrupt.
Fetullah Gulen denies having anything to do with the charter schools being erected because it is politically expedient for him to distance himself from them. However, when he was applying for his green card, he stated that he was an educational leader who had started 600 schools all around the world. His assets are estimated to be around $25 billion. This money is used to privately fund the creation of Gulen schools in 100 countries. The U.S. is the only country where his schools are funded 100% by U.S. tax payers. This money is also used to wine and dine U.S. politicians and send them on junkets to Turkey.
There are Gülen-inspired “dialogue” groups and local non-profits that promote Turkish culture. Various foundations have been formed to promote the Gulen Movement throughout the world. The U.S. has been split up into regions by the Gulen Movement in order to encourage the complete dissemination of the goals and ideals of the group in an organized fashion. They track the number of charter schools in each state, student enrollments and their ability to teach about Turkish culture and even the Turkish language in some schools. At present, Gulen schools enroll about 45,000 students. They have plans to quadruple that number.
Since Obama embraces Fethullah Gulen and Hillary Clinton embraces Fethullah Gulen and Arne Duncan has given Race To The Top funds to the Gulen charter schools, there seems to be no stopping them. It is ironic that a large sum of stimulus money that was earmarked to stimulate the U.S. economy to employ U.S. workers seems to have been diverted into Turkish hands and ultimately to Turkey. Call your representatives and ask them why our tax dollars are going to support Turkish employment and the spread of Turkish culture instead of our own.
H-1B visas are issued specifically to allow highly skilled foreign workers temporary residency in the U.S. to work for employers in “specialty occupations” requiring “highly specialized knowledge.” Charter schools, sponsored by Fetullah Gulen, claim they can’t find Americans to fill positions teaching math and science.
Law suits based on discrimination have been filed against the Gulen charter schools by Americans who have been shut out of employment. All of these suits have been settled out of court. That should send up a red flag right there. If the suits had no merit, it would be to the employers benefit to win the case in court and set a precedent that would discourage future similar suits. Since the suits do have merit, a significant amount of money must be used to settle these cases out of court, to be considered as the cost of doing business.
The school district that I work for (Anaheim Union High School District) is taking a stand against charter schools moving in. One of those schools is a Gulen school — Magnolia Science Academy. Our superintendent and school board are firmly against these schools siphoning off financial resources with no accountability:
http://voiceofoc.org/2015/12/auhsd-board-time-for-a-moratorium-on-charter-schools/
Unfortunately, the political situation in Orange County has tilted in favor of charters. When the local school board denies a petition, the school operators can appeal to the county BoE. The county has 3-2 majority in favor of charters and has so far overturned all local board denials this year. So much for local democratic control.
With the Gulen schools, the secrecy is frightening. I can’t believe people tout “choice” as a rationale for turning a blind eye to the charges of defrauding government funds and the potential funding of international intrigue.
Money was wired to bank of Asia….remember this bank is owned by illegal gülen movement. It is time for US officials to expel this extremely insidious and dangerous gülen movement from America