CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – United States Attorney Will Thompson was joined by law enforcement officials on Wednesday for an announcement indicating an arrest in relation to a $3.4 million scheme to defraud Boone County Schools.
Thompson and law enforcement officials were joined by members of the local media on Wednesday at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston where Thompson announced the return of an 18-count indictment from a federal grand jury.
The indictment sees 47-year-old Michael David Barker of Foster charges with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and money laundering. The unsealing of the indictment occurred on Wednesday following Barker’s arrest.
It is alleged by way of the indictment that during the period of November 2019 through December 2023, Barker had been serving as maintenance director at the time he entered into a scheme which would defraud the Boone County Board of Education for approximately $3,400,000.
Barker served in the role of maintenance director from roughly 2015 through November 2023. In the role, Barker’s responsibilities entailed the ordering of necessary supplies for the maintenance of Boone County schools.
Barker is alleged to have falsified documents indicating that the Boone County Board of Education had been receiving substantial amounts of products for custodial and janitorial use. Such products included trash can liners, hand soap, and face masks from Kentucky business Rush Enterprises. Rush Enterprises was said to utilize an office in the Kenova area of West Virginia.
The Boone County Board of Education had purportedly only received a minimal amount of the products which had been dubbed by Barker as essential.
While acting in his capacity as Boone County Schools maintenance director, Barker submitted invoices and purchase orders of a fraudulent nature which led to the Boone County Board of Education paying for over than $4,000,000 in products from Rush Enterprises.
For example, during the calendar years 2022 and 2023, Barker is purported to have submitted invoices to the Boone County Board of Education which led to them to paying Rush Enterprises for nearly 5,000 cases of hand soap. In truth, the Boone County Board of Education had received approximately 829 cases. The Boone County Board of Education paid approximately $474,696 for hand soap which was never delivered.
Rush Enterprises operator Jesse Marks has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment. Barker and Marks are alleged to have conspired to over-charge the Boone County Board of Education for the aforementioned undelivered products and split the proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Barker allegedly received approximately $2,000,000 due to the fraudulent scheme. Barker is said to have then used his share of the proceeds to, “make extravagant purchases for his personal benefit.”
From at least in or about March 2020 through in or about December 2023, Barker, Marks and others were involved in a conspiracy to commit mail fraud as part of the plan to defraud the Boone County Board of Education. Fraudulent purchase orders and invoices submitted by Barker led to the Boone County Board of Education sending multiple checks through the U.S. Mail to Rush Enterprises. These checks were then deposited by Marks into his business account for Rush Enterprises. Marks is then alleged to have written checks from his business account to himself and cashed those checks at multiple banks. Barker was paid his share of the funds from the fraudulent scheme with this cash. Cash payments were delivered to Barker in person by Marks at a number of locations in the Boone County area during this time period.
Annual federal funds in excess of $10,000 were received by the Boone County Board of Education during the fiscal years of 2021, 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, respectively. The funds fraudulently obtained by Barker as part of the scheme entailed federal funds. Proceeds of the fraudulent scheme were also laundered by Barker through the purchase of a utility vehicle on which down payments were made toward the purchase of an excavator and track loader.
Barker is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, 1 counts of mail fraud, three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and three counts of money laundering. Should he be convicted, Barker will face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count and each mail fraud count, as well as up to ten years in prison for each county of theft and money laundering. Any sentence will be determined by a federal court judge upon consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory factors.
“At a time when Boone County Schools faced significant challenges, particularly while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Barker used his position of authority to enrich himself at the expense of the children of Boone County,” said U.S. Attorney Will Thompson. “Mr. Barker’s scheme siphoned millions of much-needed dollars from our public schools, and the indictment unsealed today seeks to hold him accountable for his criminal actions.”
During the announcement, Thompson commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU), and the assistance provided by the West Virginia Department of Education.
“This scheme not only defrauded the public of their money, but it also directly impacted the health, safety, and wellbeing of the most vulnerable in our community: our children,” said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. “Rather than supporting educators and ensuring resources for students were available, this individual instead sought to line his own pockets. The FBI and our partners remain committed to holding those responsible accountable and seeking justice for victims.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge of the United States Department of Education Office of Inspector General Eastern Regional Office, John Carlo also commented on the egregious nature of the scheme.
“Today’s action alleges that Mr. Barker not only abused his position of trust for personal gain but did so at the expense of Boone County students. That is unacceptable,” said Carlo. “OIG will continue to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate education funds for their own purposes. West Virginia’s students and taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office, Kareem Carter noted that the indictment should serve as an example to those considering attempting such acts themselves.
“Mr. Barker was entrusted with the responsibility of ordering supplies necessary for the maintenance of the Boone County schools. Instead, he allegedly exploited his position at the school to launder millions of dollars to enrich himself”, said Carter. “Today’s indictment should serve as an example of IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners commitment to continue to work together to hold accountable and disrupt bad actors like the defendant.”
West Virginia State Auditor J.B. McCuskey asserted that there would be zero tolerance for such fraudulent activity in the Mountain State.
“Barker isn’t just accused of stealing much needed funds from Boone County schools and its students, he stole from all West Virginians and taxpayers throughout the country,” said McCuskey. “This type of fraud has not been tolerated under my watch in local government through our PIFU and I’m proud of the work we have done to help our partners in the United States Attorney’s Office to root out this behavior and send the message that you will be held accountable.”
