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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA judge has allowed state officials to continue with a lawsuit against several people and companies linked with two now-closed Indiana online charter schools facing allegations of a fraud scheme that cost the state more than $150 million.
A Hamilton County judge issued an order Monday rejecting arguments from those connected with Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy that the lawsuit was not specific enough about how they violated state law, WFYI-FM of Indianapolis reported.
The lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General’s Office in July accused the two online schools of padding their student enrollments and inappropriately paying money to a web of related businesses before they were shut down in 2019.
The schools closed amid a state investigation that found they improperly claimed about 14,000 students as enrolled even though they had no online course activity. A state audit linked much of the misspending to Thomas Stoughton, who headed the schools until 2017.
Judge Michael Casati ruled that the lawsuit against Stoughton could proceed, writing that its allegations provided sufficient detail.
Casati also denied requests for delays from two defendants who said they might be under an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
The FBI and federal prosecutors have declined to comment on the status of any investigation.
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What is Attorney General Todd Rokita’s batting average when it comes to his actions to either initiate or block lawsuits? It certainly is not what we would expect from the state government’s top lawyer. It’s probably not even as good as what an intern might achieve. Whatever office Rokita seeks next, let’s all remember his poor record and equally poor judgment on major public policy matters. We can do better.
This is the rare good news for Rokita … he won, for the moment. Of course, when a school steals over $80 million and gets away with it for multiple years, anything less than a win is unacceptable.
The question is, why hasn’t the state of Indiana modified how it hands out vouchers after a theft of this size? How could this go on for multiple years and it’s all OK? Doesn’t it seem like more oversight is needed?
I mean, they’ve cracked down on transgendered kids despite the absence of an issue. Three people out of hundreds out on bond from a non-profit commit crime again and they are doing their best to shut down that non-profit. $80 million dollars of taxpayer money walks out the door and … crickets.