Another amazing but true story from Los Angeles about the loose rules under which charters operate.
This charter operator opened a charter school in 2006 called the Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists. She bought a building and leased it to the charter for $19,000 a month. She paid herself a salary of $223,615. She renovated the building and charged it to the state. Auditors think the charter operator may have funneled millions of dollars to her own accounts from public funds. The violations were too egregious to overlook.
Some of the allegations bordered on the bizarre.
Auditors questioned, for example, the use of school funds to pay a $566,803 settlement to a former teacher who sued the organization for wrongful termination after she was directed by Okonkwo to travel with her to Nigeria to marry Okonkwo’s brother-in-law for the purpose of making him a United States citizen.
The school was closed in 2014. The operator claimed bias. She was fined $16,000.
In papers filed with the state, Wisdom’s leaders accused auditors and the county office of misconduct and “open hostility … against this African American operated school,” calling it “the culmination of years of unfair treatment and retaliation … because a few [county office] staff members dislike our school’s founder Kendra Okonkwo, her family, the thickness of her accent, and the color of her skin.”
Ordinarily, this degree of theft of public funds would merit a criminal prosecution. The California Charter Schools Association supported this charter’s appeals to the county board and the state board.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Nonprofit” is meaningless:
“For-profit, charter-building enterprises are growing with school enrollment. The number of students in U.S. charters grew from 1.6 million in 2009-10 to 2.9 million in 2014-15, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Charter enrollment within the School District of Philadelphia grew from 33,916 to 64,090 in that time.
Turner and Agassi have raised more than $500 million from investors such as Bank of America and Citigroup. They will have opened 64 schools by September and aim for an additional 100 or more in the next four years, using loans to help finance some deals.
Others cashing in on charter properties include the Denver-based real estate investors Northstar Commercial Partners, the investment bank B.C. Ziegler & Co. of Chicago, and EPR Properties, a Kansas City, Mo., real estate investment trust that locally owns Camden Community Charter School’s building.”
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20160418_Agassi_s_fund_cashes_in_on_N__Phila__charter-school_venture.html#RU8fo5BTP1c6764a.99
I wondered who owned the property re: the charter chains and we’re starting to find out.
Interesting how politicians never mention the real estate deals.
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The L.A. County BOE hired a team to do an “extraordinary audit” of the charter in question, “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars”.
It’s quite a read:
Click to access LACOEWAYSAB139finalreport3-20-14.pdf
Among its many mind-blowing findings is the one pertaining to the immigration fraud.
in what might be the wildest story of extortion I’ve ever heard of in a school setting, the charter operator, Mr. Godfrey Okonkwo, engages in a unique way of helping his brother-in-law, a Nigerian citizen, obtain his U.S. citizenship;
This charter honcho, Mr Godfrey Okonkwo, gives an ultimatum to one of the non-tenured teachers working at the charter school:
… as a condition of continued employment … as in “Do this or else your fired.”
— this teacher must fly to Nigeria, marry the brother-in-law of the charter honcho, Mr Godfrey Okonkwo, then fly back to California, then live in a sham marriage long enough to satisfy immigration officials.
Halfway through, though, the teacher backs out of the deal. Incredibly, she went as far as to fly to Nigeria with her charter school boss, Mr Godfrey Okonkwo, actually marry Mr. Okonkwo’s brother-in-law, and then the three of them flew back to Los Angeles together.
However, it is at this point the teacher gets cold feet, and tells her boss, Mr. Okonkwo, that she’s backing out of such an unsavory and highly illegal proposition. The prospect of having to fill out detailed Homeland Security documents — with severe jail penalties and huge fines for those who are ever caught providing false information on this form — leads to this decision.
(To prove the charter honcho’s involvement, the audit shows that the Repuplic of Nigeria marriage certificate has the Mr. Okonkwo’s name and signature, as the “witness” to the marriage.)
As promised, Mr. Okonkwo fires the non-tenured teacher fore refusing.
In response, the teacher files a wrongful termination lawsuit against both Mr. Okonkwo, the “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars, and the Merle Williamson Foundation (MWF), a non-profit 501(c)(3) under which WAYS operates. A jury later found in favor of the teacher plaintiff, and against Mr. Okonkwo, WAYS, and MWF. In a subsequent judgment, this teacher was awarded of $566,803. Mr. Okonkwo eventually pays the teacher this $566,803 in school funds that were supposed to go the classroom.
In defending himself in the lawsuit, Mr. Okonkwo defiantly claims that all of this happened off-campus during a holiday break from school, and thus, outside of the school’s scope of employment. “Therefore, butt out. This is none of the L.A. County BOE’s (the charter authorizer’s business.), or anyone else’s business. It’s a private matter between the bride, the groom/my brother-in-law, and myself.”
The problem with this line of defense, however, is that Mr. Okonkwo settled the wrongful termination lawsuit with the teacher for $566,803, but did not use his own private funds to do so. Mr. Okonkwo cut a check out of the charter school’s bank account, with the charter school “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars”, as the payer on the check.
This also leads to Mr. Okonkwo being shown up to be a liar in another area. Mr. Okonkwo claims that she took no days off from school. However, multiple teachers — those interviewed regardin the marriage / immigration fraud confirmed that Mr. Okonkwo took many school days off, and traveled to Nigeria on those days.
Here’s the relevant passage:
(page 22 on the bottom footer ,
OR
page 30 of the PDF page counter)
—————————————–
“Professional Liability for Founder/Former Executive Director
“Documents from a lawsuit settled against the Merle Williamson Foundation (MWF) for wrongful termination of a former teacher at WAYS against the school show that the founder/former executive director traveled to Omtsha, Nigeria and directed one of the school’s teachers to go with her to marry her sister’s husband (brother-in-law) for purposes of making the brother-in-law a United States citizen.
“Although the teacher married the brother-in-law, she ultimately refused to complete the Department of Homeland Security form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, and brought suit against MWF. On December 4, 2012, a jury found in favor of the teacher plaintiff and subsequent judgment was awarded of $566,803.
“The contract dated July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2011 clearly states that the executive director shall be held harmless and be indemnified ‘from any and all demands, claims, suits, and legal proceedings brought against the Executive Director in her official capacity as agent and employee of the MWF, provided the incident arose while the Executive Director was acting within the scope of employment.” (emphasis added)
“Clearly this action by the ‘Executive Director’ was not within the scope of employment, was conducted during winter break in Nigeria, and yet the settlement was paid by WAYS charter school.
“The Certificate of Marriage document from Federal Republic of Nigeria shows the founder/former executive director’s signature as witness to the marriage between the teacher and Joseph Njor Enwezor (the founder/former executive director’s brother-in-law) on January 4, 2010.
“According to staff at LACOE who conducted interviews, these interviews with former teachers and board members indicate many trips to Nigeria to visit a personal residence in that country by the founder/former executive director, yet she asserts that she took ‘zero’ days off during the last five years.”
———————————————————
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the financial corruption that these creep engaged in. Read the whole thing. Again, it’s at:
Click to access LACOEWAYSAB139finalreport3-20-14.pdf
All of this begs the questions:
“How egregious must a charter school’s transgressions — both legal and ethical — be in order to close that school?
“How bad must if be for the California Charter School Association to denounce these practices, and withdraw its support for the charter authorization by either a county BOE, or the state BOE?
“How bad must it be order to trigger a criminal prosecution?”
Mind you, immigration fraud involving sham marriages is felony.
Why is THAT not being prosecuted?
The very fact that, after all this corruption was uncovered, that this charter operator even thought that she had a chance at authorizing by the State Board of Ed. shows how entitled the charter industry players think they are.
Indeed, the Callifornia Charter School Association supported their appeals to the L.A. County BOE and State BOE.
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There’s so much in this audit that is simply staggering.
For starters, check out the flow chart of nepotism & family member profiteering that the auditors created:
Go to:
page 39 on the document’s bottom footer ,
OR
page 47 of the PDF page counter:
Click to access LACOEWAYSAB139finalreport3-20-14.pdf
That’s what you call “keeping it in the family!
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Now check out this list of fraudulent transactions using public funds in which the charter school family members engaged:
Go to:
page 44 on the document’s bottom footer ,
OR
page 53 of the PDF page counter:
Click to access LACOEWAYSAB139finalreport3-20-14.pdf
Underneath this damning list, the auditors excoriate the charter school family involved in these transactions, and do so in no uncertain terms — suggesting that some of what occured is “criminal activity”:
———————————————–
FCMAT Auditors:
“The above transactions represent significant influence that the WAYS founder/former executive director, family of the founder and close associates had over financial decisions that personally benefited them.
“Several of these transactions were authorized for payment by the director of operations, who is the son of the founder/former executive director, and the current executive director (the former board president) and gave these individuals the ability to simultaneously control and benefit from these transactions.
“The lack of documentation to support transactions through board approval and records creates the perception of fraud, misappropriation of assets and possible criminal activity.
“There is little evidence of responsible governance by the board and clearly a lack of fiscal account ability by the administration. The governing board has failed and often been prevented from its
ability to maintain and exercise its responsibilities, authority, and control.”
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Allie, I posted your story as a comment at Oped..Lordy…it reads like fiction…but then I have been reading http://www.Perdaily.com which chronicles the incredible lawlessness in LAUSD!
http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Former-L-A-charter-school-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Charter-School-Failure_Charter-Schools_Conflict-Of-Interest_Diane-Ravitch-160418-19.html#comment592942
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One more thing.
As I said above, the crooked Okonkwo family attempted to get the State Board of Ed. to take over as authorizer of their family’s charter school, “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars Charter School.”
In doing so, the Okonkwo’s put forth a long appeal, which included a half-ass attempt, or rather a non-attempt to explain or defend the whole sham-marriage-to-obtain-citzenship-for-the-brother-in-law thing:
Here’s that interminable appeal document that the Okonkwo’s sent to the State Board of Ed. in Sacramento:
Click to access accs-apr15item04a4.pdf
For the relevant passage — the only time that the Okonkwo family ever address this situation in the appeal—
Go to:
page E3-5 on the document’s bottom footer ,
OR
page 50 of the PDF page counter::
Here’s that passage
—————————————-
WAYS APPEAL TO STATE BOARD AFTER LACOE’S REVOCATION OF THE WAYS CHARTER:
“The NIR (LACOE’s Notice of Intent to Revoke) also states that ‘WAYS fails to remedy’ the ‘related party transaction and conflict of interest’ regarding the settlement agreement between WAYS and Ms. Okonkwo, and the wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former WAYS teacher. ”
—————————————
The “related party transaction and conflict of interest” is the whole fiasco described a couple posts above:
RECAP:
— extorting an employee — in large part due to of her non-tenured status and desperation to keep her job — into engaging in the following, or else get fired:
a) flying to Nigeria with the Executive Director
b) marrying the brother-in-law of the Executive Director
c) returning to the U.S. and living with the brother in a fraudulent marriage long enough to fool authorities… all in order to obtain citizen ship.
d) filling out detailed Homeland Security documents with false information, that if discovered, would result in years in jail and thousand of dollars of fines.
The WAYS Okonkwo family of crooks doesn’t even attempt to explain or defend any of this in any way.
Instead, they claim that both LACOE and the State BOE lack the “legal authority that warrants characterizing these as conflicts of interest.” No, to them, even mentioning this scenario is just a cheap attempt at “painting the Okonkwo family in a bad light” as a way to “shift the County Board’s focus.”
“shift the focus”? What does that even mean? From what? To what?
Here’s that quote, which immediately follow the quote above in the appeal documents,
(also on page E3-5 of the document,
or
page 50 of the PDF page counter)
Click to access accs-apr15item04a4.pdf
———————————
WAYS APPEAL TO STATE BOARD AFTER LACOE’S REVOCATION OF THE WAYS CHARTER:
“LACOE has not provided any legal authority that warrants characterizing these (i.e. the sham marriage scam & all the rest) as conflicts of interest. Rather, it seems like LACOE staff mentions these past events (i.e. the sham marriage scam & all the rest) to shift the County Board’s focus by painting the Okonkwo family in a bad light.”
——————————–
” … painting the Okonkwo family in a bad light…?”
A bit of an understatement, you might say.
Also, remember that THE Okonkwo family PAID THE SETTLEMENT TO THE WRONGED TEACHER OUT OF THE BANK ACCOUNT FOR THE “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars Charter School”, with the “Wisdom Academy of Young Scholars Charter School” listed on the check as the payer???!!!!!
How can they claim that the County or State Board of Ed that oversees their operations lacks the “legal authority that warrants characterizing these (i.e. the sham marriage scam & all the rest) as conflicts of interest?”
For God’s sake, a charter operator can’t just dip into his/her school’s bank account (full of taxpayer-provided funds) to pay off a wrongfully-terminated teacher who’s suing you as a result of you coercing her into committing immigration fraud, and then not expect the Board authorizing your charter school to NOT have any legal authority or interest in such an event!!!
Haw can they even make such a statement?
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Kendra Okonkwo, the matriarch of the Okonkwo family, is the one in charge of their corrupt charter empire.
Hey, she’s also an ordained minister with “The Word of God International University”:
http://wgiuniversity.ning.com/profile/KendraOkonkwo?xg_source=activity
In her profile, here’s a couple questions, followed by her answers:
Q: “What degree are you interested in fulfilling this year?”
“Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in School of Theo-Centric Education.”
Q: “Which office of the five-fold ministry are you chosen or elected by God to oversee?”
“Teacher.”
———————–
My response to this is Woody Allen’s from ANNIE HALL:
“Right? Well, I have to go now, Duane, because I’m due back on the Planet Earth.”
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I found the house where Kendra & her husband Godfrey Okonkwo live. (and now, I’m not going to post the address, or even the city)
However, I will tell you that it’s valued $1.61 million. It has 6 beds, 4 baths, and measures 6,663 sqft.
The Okonkwos are not exactly taking a vow of poverty.
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Here’s the notice of the Fair Practices hearing, in front of an Administrative Law Judge, where Kendra Okonkwo ultimately got off with a slap on the wrist. It includes a summary of the financial corruption (but not the immigration fraud scam):
Click to access 49%20Memo%20to%20Commission%20re%20ALJ_Okonkwo.pdf
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How can public schools possibly compete with for-profit development deals?
“By turning to investors, the pace of development could be massively accelerated. “As long as you can accept the fact that making money and making change needn’t be exclusive, then the business model works great,” said Turner, whose other celebrity tie-ups have involved real estate ventures with former Lakers star Magic Johnson.”
This will end public investment in public facilities.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20160418_Agassi_s_fund_cashes_in_on_N__Phila__charter-school_venture.html#z0DVw1iQEWmrGMud.99
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“Tip of the Iceberg”
The charter ice-berg’s deep
And lurks beneath the surface
The cost is very steep
And public should be nervous
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$16,000? That does not even rise to the level of a slap on the wrist. We need serious prosecutions.
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Preventing this is simple: don’t give public funds to organizations that are not run by the public.
Problem solved.
If charters want to operate under private control with private funding, more power to them.
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Exactly, but as we know, ‘we’ do not control our legislators whoa re totally devoted to the oligarchs who elect them.
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$16,000 fine? “$19,00 a Month and Possibly Millions?”
For the heavyweights and enforcers of self-styled “education reform”—
Just the cost of doing business. At the expense of staff and students and parents and their associated communities.
And not a peep from the charter/privatization crowd that, on cue at self-aggrandizing events, occasionally mouth platitudes about getting ridding of the bad apples in their midst.
☹️
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Does that $16k even cover investigative costs, copying, etc.?
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KrazyTA,
Rhee-formers want to get rid of bad apples in public schools but not in charter schools
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and the GOP defunds pubic schools and gives the money away to fraudsters.
I crossposts this at Oped.
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And what a great lesson for the youth of our nation. Was there any prosecution of possible immigration fraud? Cripes!
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While I admit that there might be bias against this woman, all charter schools do what she did. If you are just going to get one charter operator or get them all and stop this theft of public monies. Was the punishment too lenient yes but ignoring this widespread corruption and misuse of taxpayer dollars is criminal. That’s what LAUSD,the county, state and Feds are doing. This is not an isolated case, it’s pervasive amg charter operators.
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I just got an email from Nigeria to set up a charter school in my name. The man (Dr. Adubabi Labbi) said 90% of the profits would go to me. All I have to do is provide my bank account number so that Dr. Labbi can deposit the 6 million dollars he has to open the charter.
What should i do?
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Wicked cool. A charter school for you.
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Poet, they used to invite you to invest in oil wells. Now it’s charter schools. Open a new account and deposit $10. Then invite your friend to deposit $6 million.
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I’m still hoping that Shelly and KJ will be nailed for something. Still have a few years left for fraud charges before the clock expires.
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…but LA was fined millions for not co-locating another charter that stole? Where is the justice?
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Reblogged this on Exceptional Delaware and commented:
Cause we all know this could NEVER happen in Delaware, right?
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