Over a dozen current and former principals in the Detroit public school system have been charged in a conspiracy scheme involving more than $900,000 in kickbacks and bribes, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday, NBC News reported.
At least 13 principals are named in the federal complaints — including the principal of a school that was featured on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and received $500,000 in donations because conditions there were so poor.
"The real victims in a case like this are the students and the families ... the teachers and the educators who want to make a difference," Barbara McQuade, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said at a news conference. "A case like this is a real punch in the gut."
The scheme involved $908,518 in kickbacks and bribes in exchange for Allstate Sales doing business with the Detroit Public Schools worth $2.7 million, McQuade said.
