Political | Process

Seth Andrew, who served as a senior adviser in the Office of Educational Technology during the Obama administration, confessed to wire fraud before U.S. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan federal court

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• “Seth Andrew, a former White House advisor, admitted today to devising a scheme to steal from the very same schools he helped create,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. “Andrew now faces time in federal prison for abusing his position and robbing those he promised to help.”

• In 2005, Andrew, 42, helped create the Democracy Prep Public Schools, a charter school system in New York and other states, according to multiple outlets.

• He left his position in the charter school system for a position in the Department of Education in 2013. He left his position in 2016 and “officially severed his relationship” with the school system in 2017, prosecutors said.

• The school system was required to maintain escrow accounts with funding to be used if the school system dissolved, the Department of Justice said.

• Andrew gained access to these accounts and transferred money to his private bank accounts, according to prosecutors.

• The transfers happened on several different occasions in 2019, about two years after he cut ties with the school system, according to the documents.

• The funds in the escrow accounts were not allowed to be moved by Andrew or anyone without the appropriate approval, according to prosecutors.

SOURCE: WASHINGTONEXAMINER