Ex-Broward charter school head sentenced to more than three years for embezzling thousands
The former president of a Broward County charter school was sentenced Thursday to just over three years in prison for embezzling federal funds by a Miami federal district court judge.
In March, Jamika Williams, the former president of Advancement of Education in Scholars Corp. (AESC), a Florida nonprofit corporation, was convicted of 18 counts of wire fraud and embezzling about $400,000 in federal funds from the now-defunct Paramount Charter School at 7100 W. Oakland Park Blvd. in Lauderhill.
At the time, she faced a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment for each charge related to the theft of government programs and 20 years in prison for each of the wire fraud charges. Judge Rodney Smith sentenced her to 40 months.
Williams, according to court documents, paid herself nearly $390,000 to fund personal purchases of “vehicle payments, a private school, rent and other personal expenses.” The funds were intended for Paramount, a K-8 school.
READ MORE: Ex-Broward charter school head convicted of stealing funds to pay rent, private school
The school received federal funding through Title 1, a U.S. program that allots funds to schools where more than 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced cost lunches, court records show. The school also received state funding through the School Board of Broward County, the records show.
According to the Sun Sentinel, Paramount received more than $3 million in state and federal funds and had received complaints about water not running and high teacher turnover that led to overcrowded classrooms.
The school operated for just two years before closing in 2017.
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 3:46 PM.
