HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Monday that charges had been filed in a massive teacher certification cheating ring that led to unqualified teachers in classrooms not only in the Houston area but across the state.
Ogg said at least five people have already been charged in the alleged million-dollar teacher cheating scandal that led to fraudulently certified teachers working in Texas school districts. Three of those who were charged were Houston ISD employees, including two assistant principals and a boy's high school basketball coach.
According to Ogg, two of the people who paid to have the fake certification ended up being charged with crimes against children. She said one was charged with indecency with a child and another was charged with online solicitation of a minor.
"It was the access through the certification that was false that allowed them to commit the crimes," Ogg said.
Investigators said they discovered that hundreds of tests had been faked and they said about 20 teachers have confessed to taking part in the scheme.
"The extent of this scheme will never be fully known, but we know that at least 400 tests were taken and at least 200 teachers falsely certified," Ogg said.
Prosecutor Mike Levine said he thinks the ring's kingpin, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School, made more than $1 million from the scheme. Levine said the kingpin charged $2,500 per fake certification but some people paid more due to middlemen.
Who's charged
Ogg announced the following people have been charged in connection with the scheme:
- Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Grayson is charged as the organizer of the cheating scheme and has worked at the high school for nearly 20 years. He is charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $300,000.
- Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. Mason’s role as test proctor allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected.
- Nicholas Newton, 35, is an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Newton is alleged to have participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker. He was charged with two counts of organized criminal activity. His bond was set at $100,000 for each count.
- Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX is alleged to have taken bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.
- LaShonda Roberts, 39, is an assistant principal at Yates High School in Houston ISD. Roberts is charged with recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme. She is charged with two counts of organized criminal activity with her bond set at $100,000 for each count.
All five of them are charged with two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. Sentences range from two years to life in prison. Some have been arrested and others were expected to be taken into custody later Monday.
Newton and Roberts were expected to appear in front of a judge on Monday night.
"The most important thing to me is that the ringleaders have been identified and are being routed out of our home school district. The fact that they held positions of power there, where they were held in esteem by the children, is the very worst part of this crime," Ogg said.
How it worked
Investigators said the teachers would use a test-taking proxy, or a person impersonating the teacher, as well as a fake test administrator to take and pass the tests required for certification.
Investigators said Grayson bribed Gilford Mason, an employee at a testing center, for allowing the cheating to take place.
Then, the candidate would set up exactly when and where to test. Newton is accused of being a proxy test-taker who would take and pass the test for the people who paid for the certificate. Levine said Gilford Mason made at least $125,000 and Newton was paid more than $188,000.
Levine said Roberts recruited and referred people. He said she sent more than 90 teachers into the scheme.
Ogg said it appears that the scheme started around May 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning. She said the scheme was revealed when a former coach who was applying as a police officer came forward with details of the scheme. He told investigators it was well-known among the hopeful teacher population.
HISD response
A spokesperson for HISD said the district wasn't aware of what was going on until shortly before three of its employees were arrested.
All three employees were immediately relieved of duties and were placed on leave until the legal proceedings played out.
"The conduct in question is completely unacceptable and completely against every one of HISD's values," Chief of Public Affairs and Communications Alexandra Elizondo said.
Elizondo said the district is working to find out if other current teacher certifications need to be reviewed and if it's determined that anyone else did it fraudulently, their contracts will be terminated.
She also said that the HISD police helped coordinate with local law enforcement but didn't make the arrests.
HISD statement
"HISD was made aware of the investigation into an alleged cheating conspiracy shortly before arrests were made. Any educator who engages in conduct of this nature abdicates their responsibility to our students and to our staff and represents a complete betrayal of the public trust. HISD will cooperate fully with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement as the investigation progresses. All three of these employees have been arrested and will be receiving notifications relieving them of their duties effective immediately.
"Additionally, if it is determined that any teachers currently working in HISD participated in this scheme or passed their certification exams fraudulently, we will take swift action to terminate their employment with the District."
Texas Education Agency statement
"In accordance with State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rules, TEA will review any and all information shared by law enforcement and pursue appropriate action against any educator involved in this scheme. The SBEC will make a final determination on possible sanctions."
Watch the announcement below: