atlanta — ATLANTA (AP) — The superintendent of Georgia’s third-largest school district has been indicted on federal charges alleging he ran a bribery scheme and stole money from his former employer, a smaller school district in the Chicago suburbs.
A federal grand jury in Chicago on Wednesday indicted Devon Horton, the current superintendent of the 93,000-student DeKalb County School District, on 17 counts including wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. The indictment alleges that Horton, 48, issued contracts worth more than $280,000 to three friends and received more than $80,000 in kickbacks from 2020 through 2023 while he was superintendent of the Evanston-Skokie School District. That district had 5,800 students in grades K-8 last year.
Charged alongside Horton are three other men who prosecutors allege were part of the scheme: Antonio Ross, 48, of Chicago; Samuel Ross, 46, of Berwyn, Illinois; and Alfonzo Lewis, 48, of Chicago.
Horton is “excited to address his case in court,” Horton’s attorney, Terry Campbell, said in a statement. He added that the allegations “concern conduct that is several years old and have absolutely nothing to do with his highly successful work on behalf of students, families and educators in DeKalb County,” citing improved attendance, graduation rates and academic achievement in the Georgia district.
Lawyers for Samuel Ross and Antonio Ross declined to comment. No attorney for Lewis is listed in court records.
The DeKalb County School Board held an emergency meeting Thursday and suspended Horton, naming Student Services Chief Norman Suess as acting superintendent. Board President Deirdre Pierce said in a statement that operations “will continue as usual” and that the district will remain “focused on providing a safe, supportive, high-quality educational experience for every student.”
The DeKalb County School Board extended Horton’s contract through 2028 in July and raised his salary to $360,000 annually.
The indictment alleges that the four men set up companies and billed them for services they did not provide in order to steal money from the Evanston-Skokie and Chicago school districts. In addition to the $283,500 payment from Evanston-Skokie, the indictment alleges that Antonio Ross, then the principal of Hyde Park Academy High School in Chicago, issued a fraudulent contract to a company controlled by Horton and took $10,000 from Horton.
Horton tried to hire Antonio Ross after Horton became DeKalb County supervisor, but Ross turned down the job amid questions about the business relationship between the two men. The DeKalb area has hired at least four other people Horton previously worked with in Illinois or Louisville, Kentucky.
Horton also faces charges of stealing more than $30,000 from the Evanston-Skokie area in 2022 and 2023 by using his area purchase card to purchase personal meals and gift cards and to pay for personal vehicle and travel expenses. Horton is also charged with tax evasion over allegations that he underreported commissions and personal purchases on his income tax returns.
Because of the large amount of money allegedly stolen and the fact that Horton was a public employee, he could face more than 10 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted. The prosecution is also seeking to confiscate the funds in question for the four men.
Evanston-Skokie School Board leaders Sergio Hernandez and Nicole Pinkard said in a statement that the district “was aware of the ongoing investigation and fully supported the process,” keeping the matter secret at the request of federal authorities.
“We are deeply disturbed and angry by these allegations,” they said.