The payments, approved and arranged by Ward, were supposed to go toward laptops, tablets and other technology for children, prosecutors say. However, none of the products or services for which the school system paid were ever delivered, according to court records.
Officials at KIPP DC, which enrolls about 7,000 students across eight campuses in the District, said they found irregularities with certain technology purchases during a routine internal review in December. Leaders suspected fraud and contacted the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia, which launched an investigation, the school said in a statement.
The school system also conducted its own review, led by outside counsel and a team of forensics accountants, which found “this was an isolated incident conducted by a single individual who took advantage of extraordinary circumstances during the pandemic and the individual’s role as head of technology.”
School leaders said they have already recovered $1 million from its insurance provider and are “optimistic” the Justice Department’s recovery process will return more than $800,000 of the missing funds.
KIPP officials said they have taken steps to prevent future fraud by “closing any gaps in our existing systems, making organizational design changes, implementing new policies and procedures within the systems we have, and evaluating longer term systemic solutions.”
“We take our financial responsibility seriously and continue to improve our financial controls and asset management based on the findings of our internal review,” the school system said in a statement.
The complaint asserts KIPP DC paid companies Tenret Tech and Vast Systems for technology services and thousands of devices — including 1,000 Android tablets, 150 MacBook Air laptops and 3,400 Acer Chromebooks — between April 3, 2020 and Oct. 27, 2021. The complaint is attempting to seize the property that was acquired.
While the devices never materialized, students learning from home were able to use devices the school system had purchased from other vendors, said Adam Rupe, a spokesman for KIPP DC.
Tenret Tech was a Maryland corporation registered in April 2020, court records show. The company’s documents identify Ward as its authorized person and resident agent, and list Ward’s home address as its own, according to the complaint. Prosecutors say Vast Systems is an affiliate of Tenret Tech, and eventually purported to do business as Tenret Tech.
Ward died by suicide on Jan. 25 at the age of 44. He was found in a public park in McLean with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said. At the time of his death, Ward was serving as mayor of the city of Hyattsville in Prince George’s County.
He had been elected to the job in 2021 after serving two terms on the City Council.
Ward was beloved by many Hyattsville residents, who after his death displayed purple lights and ribbons from their homes in memory of their late mayor and his favorite color.
In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for the city said Hyattsville officials learned of the federal civil complaint through news reports. The statement assured community members that no elected officials have access to the city’s cash account and that the spending of taxpayer dollars goes through a “robust, multi-layered approval process.”
“We know this may be difficult news for members of the Hyattsville community,” the statement said. It encouraged anyone struggling to reach out to the 988 Crisis Lifeline for help.
Ward’s death shocked the tightknit community, his colleagues and those closest to him, including friends and family, who struggled to understand what had gone wrong.
Those who knew him spoke of his warmth, generosity, eagerness to help others and dedication as a father and husband. Ward’s family could not be reached Tuesday.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
