Pa. charter school founder charged in $6 million fraud

A 75-year-old schoolteacher from Haverford has been indicted on charges of using her position to steal nearly $6 million from Philadelphia-area taxpayers.

FBI and Justice Department officials Tuesday announced a long list of charges against Dorothy June Brown and several of her associates. They are accused of conspiring to use Philadelphia charter schools Brown founded to line their own pockets using shell companies and falsified contracts.

U.S. attorney Zane David Memeger said Brown’s alleged crimes may have caused irreparable harm to the families of students at her schools.

“As our public schools are funded through dollars earned by hard-working Americans, there is a reasonable expectation that their tax dollars will be used to actually benefit students,” he said. “My office will continue to vigorously investigate and pursue those charter school operators who defraud the taxpayers and deprive our children of funds for their education.”

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Charter schools founded and targeted by Brown include the Agora Cyber Charter School and the Planet Abacus Charter School.

If convicted, Brown and her associates could face substantial fines and significant prison time. Efforts to reach Brown were unsuccessful.

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