HARRIS COUNTY, TX - On Monday, October 28th, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced that charges have been filed and five people have already been charged in an alleged million-dollar teacher cheating scandal that lead to fraudulently certified teachers working in Texas school districts.
According to KHOU, the massive teacher certification cheating ring led to unqualified teachers in the classroom not only in the Houston area, but across the state of Texas. Three of the five charged were Houston ISD employees, including two assistant principals and a boy's high school basketball coach.
Ogg said that two of the people who paid to have the fake certification ended up being charged with crimes against children. She said one was charged with indecency with a child and another was charged with online solicitation of a minor. Ogg added, "It was the access through the certification that was false that allowed them to commit the crimes."
Investigators discovered that hundreds of tests had been faked and they said that so far, about 20 teachers have confessed to taking part in the scheme. Ogg said, "The extent of this scheme will never fully be known, but we know that at least 400 tests were taken and at least 200 teachers falsely certified."
Prosecutor Mike Levine said he thinks the ring's kingpin, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School, made more than $1 million from the scheme. Levine said that the kingpin charged $2,500 per fake certification, but some actually paid more due to "middlemen" that were involved. Below are the five people that have so far been charged in the scheme:
Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Grayson has been charged as the organizer of the cheating scheme and has worked at the high school for nearly 20 years. He has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $300,000.;
Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. Mason's role as test proctor allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected;
Nicholas Newton, 35, is an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Newton is alleged to have participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker. He has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $100,000 for each count;
Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a test proxy; and
LaShonda Roberts, 39, is an assistant principal at Yales High School in Houston ISD. Roberts has been charged with recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme. She has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. Her bond has been set at $100,000 for each count.
All five individuals have been charged with two counts of engaging in criminal activity. If convicted, sentences range from two years to life in prison. Ogg said in a statement, "The most important thing to me is that the ringleaders have been identified and are being routed out of our home school district. The fact that they held positions of power there, where they were held in esteem by the children, is the very worst part of this crime."
Investigators said that the teachers would use a test-taking proxy, or a person impersonating the teacher, as well as a fast test administrator to take and pass the tests required for certification. Investigators said that Grayson bribed Mason, an employee at the testing center, for allowing the cheating to take place. Then, the candidate would set up exactly when and where to test.
Newton is accused of being a proxy test-taker who would take and pass the test for the people who paid for the certificate. Levine said Mason made at least $125,000 and Newton was paid more than $188,000. Levine said that Roberts recruited and referred people, saying that she sent more than 90 teachers into the scheme.
Ogg said that the scheme started around May 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning. She said the scheme was revealed when a former coach who was applying as a police officer came forward with details of the scheme. He told investigators it was well-known among the hopeful teacher population. A spokesperson for Houston ISD said that the district was not aware of what was going on until shortly before all three of its employees were arrested.
Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alexandra Elizondo said, "The conduct in question is completely unacceptable and completely against every one of HISD's values." She said the school district is working to find out if other teacher certifications need to be reviewed and if it's determined that anyone else did it fraudulently, their contracts will be terminated.
According to KHOU, the massive teacher certification cheating ring led to unqualified teachers in the classroom not only in the Houston area, but across the state of Texas. Three of the five charged were Houston ISD employees, including two assistant principals and a boy's high school basketball coach.
Ogg said that two of the people who paid to have the fake certification ended up being charged with crimes against children. She said one was charged with indecency with a child and another was charged with online solicitation of a minor. Ogg added, "It was the access through the certification that was false that allowed them to commit the crimes."
Investigators discovered that hundreds of tests had been faked and they said that so far, about 20 teachers have confessed to taking part in the scheme. Ogg said, "The extent of this scheme will never fully be known, but we know that at least 400 tests were taken and at least 200 teachers falsely certified."
Prosecutor Mike Levine said he thinks the ring's kingpin, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School, made more than $1 million from the scheme. Levine said that the kingpin charged $2,500 per fake certification, but some actually paid more due to "middlemen" that were involved. Below are the five people that have so far been charged in the scheme:
Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Grayson has been charged as the organizer of the cheating scheme and has worked at the high school for nearly 20 years. He has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $300,000.;
Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. Mason's role as test proctor allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected;
Nicholas Newton, 35, is an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Newton is alleged to have participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker. He has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $100,000 for each count;
Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a test proxy; and
LaShonda Roberts, 39, is an assistant principal at Yales High School in Houston ISD. Roberts has been charged with recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme. She has been charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. Her bond has been set at $100,000 for each count.
All five individuals have been charged with two counts of engaging in criminal activity. If convicted, sentences range from two years to life in prison. Ogg said in a statement, "The most important thing to me is that the ringleaders have been identified and are being routed out of our home school district. The fact that they held positions of power there, where they were held in esteem by the children, is the very worst part of this crime."
Investigators said that the teachers would use a test-taking proxy, or a person impersonating the teacher, as well as a fast test administrator to take and pass the tests required for certification. Investigators said that Grayson bribed Mason, an employee at the testing center, for allowing the cheating to take place. Then, the candidate would set up exactly when and where to test.
Newton is accused of being a proxy test-taker who would take and pass the test for the people who paid for the certificate. Levine said Mason made at least $125,000 and Newton was paid more than $188,000. Levine said that Roberts recruited and referred people, saying that she sent more than 90 teachers into the scheme.
Ogg said that the scheme started around May 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning. She said the scheme was revealed when a former coach who was applying as a police officer came forward with details of the scheme. He told investigators it was well-known among the hopeful teacher population. A spokesperson for Houston ISD said that the district was not aware of what was going on until shortly before all three of its employees were arrested.
Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alexandra Elizondo said, "The conduct in question is completely unacceptable and completely against every one of HISD's values." She said the school district is working to find out if other teacher certifications need to be reviewed and if it's determined that anyone else did it fraudulently, their contracts will be terminated.
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