We learned recently that Oklahoma officials have charged the EPIC online charter with fraud, alleging that its leaders siphoned off $10 million for themselves while inflating enrollments of ghost students.
Schneider does her specialty investigation of EPIC’s tax returns and discovered that the corporation was created in 2009 for a variety of purposes, but not education. It eventually amended its filing to add education. In other words, the founders were entrepreneurs in search of a mark.
In 2010, it had revenue of $60,000.
After it went into the charter business, EPIC hit pay dirt. In 2016, it’s revenues exceeded $29 million.
Is this a great country or what?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From $60k to $29 million in just 6 years is a growth of EPIC proportions.
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Not incidentally, such exponential growth is one of the key indicators of what bank fraud expert William Black has termed ” control fraud”.
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🙂
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“You go Girl”
For EPIC epic
Of epic fraud
The antiseptic
Is to applaud
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You really gotta love the oft ironic names they give these charters.
I know I do.
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You can call it “Epic Fail.”
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Ha ha ha.
TAGO!
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My favorite is the “Achievement” district in Tennessee
They also achieved failure.
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the article itself is up at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Oklahoma-s-EPIC-Virtual-Ch-in-General_News-Charter-School-Failure_Charter-Schools_Fraud_Oklahoma-Execution-190721-110.html
with the comment (with embedded links)
Comment
Diane Ravitch asks https://dianeravitch.net/2019/06/21/mercedes-schneider-on-the-biggest-charter-heist-in-history-more-than-50-million-and-still-counting/
“Why spend money on public schools when it can go right into the bank accounts of smart and savvy entrepreneurs? Bring on more theft of public money! More millions scooped up by entrepreneurs and grifters! Thanks, Reed Hastings, Eli Broad, Bill Bloomfield, the Fischer family (the Gap and Old Navy), the Walton family, and all the other billionaires who make this piracy possible and who fund the CCSA!
“The California legislature is currently deciding whether and how to reform the state’s charter law. The California Charter School Association is fighting any accountability or reform of the law. If a theft of more than $50 million by charter vultures doesn’t persuade the legislature of the need for reform, nothing will.
Mercedes Schneider has uncovered many incredible charter frauds. Mercedes Schneider on the Biggest Charter Heist in History-More than $50 Million and Still Counting. She read the voluminous indictment of the founders of the online charter chain called A3 and describes the 67 counts the 235-page indictment of Sean McManus, Jason Schrock, and nine others who used weaknesses in California’s charter school laws to construct a network of fraud and launder $50M in public funds into their own pockets over the course of years. These 11 individuals (and unidentified others) did so by opening multiple charter schools and using companies, both pre-existing and newly-created, to establish a complex system of self-dealing– with little to no education actually happening via those exploited, educational dollars.”
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The charter industry is full of unprincipled opportunists looking for an easy mark, and the government is aiding abetting this profiteering and fraud at the expense of the nation’s children.
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Unprincipled principals?
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The part that still amazes me about this “reinvention” of government is that anyone can decide one day to designate themselves “CEO” of a new charter school and start drawing their entire compensation from public funds. These people are by every practical definition “public employees” – 100% paid by the public, although not accountable to the public- and they invent their own job and set their own salary.
Imagine that in any other sector. If I told you I was setting up a trash recycling entity and would be pulling my compensation as CEO – I hired myself and set my own pay scale- directly out of water/sewer tax revenue you would laugh, but that’s exactly what’s going on here.
There seems to be NO recognition of this in charterworld, that the entire CEO class they’ve created are 100% paid by the public. They act as if these people are somehow creating separate “revenue” out of public funding and that’s how they’re paid but they’re not. They create their own publicly paid jobs – as many or as few as they desire- and then set their own pay scale. This is not only accepted in ed reform, they’re offended if anyone even questions it. Charter operators in DC were outraged that the oversight board even dared to question what they’re paying themselves. They were angry that they had to justify making half a million dollars a year. No one knows where they came up with this “pay scale”- they just invent one when they “found” the school.
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Ed reform could fix this. State employees are paid using a pay scale. It’s based upon level of skill and education. I can tell you what an entry-level psychologist will make in Ohio right now, if that psychologist accepts a state job, within 20,000, low/high.
Charter schools are at base “state schools”- ed reformers do a lot of fancy rhetorical dances around this, but strip all the marketing language out and they have set up state systems of schools, as opposed to local systems of schools.
So they could, if they wanted to, set up a pay scale for charter CEO’s and operators that is comparable to the state employee pay scale, which would put an upper limit on newly self-designated “CEO’s” of schools or contractors.
But they won’t. Because the movement has a base commitment to a specific ideology, and that ideology bars regulation. If they violated the ideological tenets of their “movement” they would lose all their political support on the Right and they can’t survive without political support because it’s all public money.
Imagine if they succeed and public schools are all gone and no one is regulating what these contractors pay themselves, in any way. The level of corruption will be off the charts. There will be so much skimming going on there won’t be any funding left for students.
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A great country for crooks and liars like Donald Trump. Honest people raised properly end up being the victims of crooks and liars like Donald Trump.
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Readers of this blog might be interested in checking out how the EPIC story is being covered by “The Oklahoman”. There have been daily updates, something that has not happened with the reported $50 million dollar California scam headed by Sean McManus. Where is our CA media? Where is the outrage from our local school district? Where is the outrage from our legislators? Where is the outrage from our governor or state superintendent? All are silent!!!! At least so far.
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Maybe California legislators and Newsom are waiting for a scam that nets &100 million.
$50-100 Million is not big enough to hold their interest.
Ask Ann O’Leary how big a scandal is needed to get the governor’s sustained attention.
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The things that make you go hmm….
EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Trade Name Transfer Recipient
EAS CONSULTING, INC.
Registered Agent: STEVEN HUFF
https://www.sos.ok.gov/corp/corpInformation.aspx?id=1912280737
Oklahoma Charter Resources
Oklahoma Department of Education
2500 North Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
Phone: 405-521-3333
Fax: 405-521-6205
Steven Huff
Email: steven_huff@sde.state.ok.us
http://www.charterschooltools.org/stateDetail.cfm?stateID=36
OKLAHOMA VIRTUAL CHARTER ACADEMY
Regular Board Meeting May 10, 2018 6:30 pm
Location: Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy Board Meeting Room
Reading of the Executive Session Minute Board convened into executive session. Present in the executive session were Terry Hopper, Kristi Gifford, Pam Lowe, and Heather Reed. Also in executive session was Bill Hickman, Board Attorney, Steve Huff for the portion of time that the Education Service Provider Evaluation Instrument was addressed, Courtney Love for a brief time while the Education Service Provider Evaluation Instrument was being completed, and Sheryl Tatum for the portion of time that the litigation issue was addressed. No action was taken and no motion was made.
Click to access d-board_45_2834764977.pdf
Communications Hickman Shelly Assistant Superintendent of Communications shelly.hickman@epiccharterschools.org
Communications Hickman Will Customer Service Specialist will.hickman@epiccharterschools.org
https://epiccharterschools.org/administrative-directory
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