SAN DIEGO—A statewide task force formed to combat charter school fraud following a multi-million dollar San Diego County fraud scheme released its initial report Wednesday, detailing guidelines for curtailing similar education-related financial misconduct in the future.
The Multi-Agency Charter School Audits Task Force was formed last year in response to a major criminal case surrounding the A3 Education charter school network, which took in millions in public funds based on false claims that certain students were enrolled in programs run by the schools. The public money ultimately went to the scheme’s masterminds Sean McManus and Jason Schrock, who were indicted, pleaded guilty, and were sentenced along with nine co-defendants….