PHOENIX (AP) - A former charter school vice principal in Arizona has pleaded guilty to felony theft charges stemming from a $2.5 million scheme to inflate enrollment.
Joann Vega is the third executive at the now-closed Bradley Academy of Excellence to enter a guilty plea for falsifying student enrollment figures, the Arizona Republic reported.
Prosecutors accuse academy executives of reporting about 191 fake students to the state Department of Education during the 2016-2017 school year, and about 453 the following year.
Arizona public schools are funded based on the number of students, meaning each additional student a school reports to the state brings more tax dollars.
The school closed in January 2018 ahead of an audit from the state education department, officials said.
Vega faces up to eight years and nine months in prison under the plea agreement. She is scheduled for sentencing April 24.
Principal Harold Cadiz pleaded guilty to two counts of theft Friday and is scheduled for sentencing in March.
Academy Chairman Daniel Hughes pleaded guilty to conspiracy and theft in November 2018, and faces up to 12 and a half years in prison. A sentencing date for Hughes has not yet been scheduled.
All three executives were ordered to pay restitution to the state and federal departments of Education and Agriculture.
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