HISD teachers scandal results in 5 arrests, including basketball coach

Five people who are or were employed by the Houston Independent School District have been charged with organizing a $1 million teacher certification scheme.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office announced that five people who are or were employed by the Houston school district have been arrested for allegedly organizing a $1 million teacher certification scheme.

During a news conference Tuesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the five people were charged each with two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity and first- and third-degree felony charges, which carry sentences ranging from two years to life in prison.

According to Ogg, the scheme involved a person impersonating a teacher taking an exam in front of a corrupt test director. After the exam was over, the invigilator allowed the impersonator to take the exam using the candidate’s real name, she added.

More than 200 unqualified teachers have been certified through this program, all of whom have practiced or are practicing in Texas public schools, Ogg said.

All five defendants are or were employees of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), including Vincent Grayson, 57; Tywana Gilford Mason, 51; Nicholas Newton, 35; LaShonda Roberts, 39; Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, according to the district attorney’s office.

Grayson, head boys basketball coach at St. HISD’s Booker T. Washington was considered an “employee” and is estimated to have made more than $1 million from the scheme, Mike Levine, chief of crimes in the public corruption division of the district attorney’s office, said during a news conference.

Ogg said he has worked at the high school for almost 20 years.

“Total betrayal of public trust”

“HISD was informed of an investigation into the alleged fraud conspiracy shortly before the arrests. “Any teacher who engages in this type of behavior is abdicating their responsibility to our students and our staff, which is a complete betrayal of the public trust,” he added. A spokesman for HISD said in a statement to USA TODAY.

“HISD will fully cooperate with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement authorities as the investigation progresses,” the statement continued. “All three employees have been arrested and will immediately receive notices relieving them of their duties.”

School district that serves over 189,000 studentsalso wrote in a statement that if “teachers currently working at HISD are found to have participated in this program or passed certification examinations fraudulently, we will take swift action to terminate their employment with the district.”

Ogg said the program extends as far back as her office allows, which is around May 2020, but “the scope of the program will never be fully known.”

Other HISD employees involved in $1 million scheme

The U.S. Attorney’s Office outlined the roles of other HISD employees involved in the program:

Tywana Gilford Mason, a former VA director/certifying officer at the Houston Training and Education Center, was allegedly the person overseeing the testing, which allowed the program to go undetected.
It is alleged that Nicholas Newton, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, participated in the program as an alternate test taker.
It is alleged that Darian Nikole Wilhite, a promoter at TACTIX, took bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.
LaShonda Roberts, an assistant principal at Yates High School in HISD, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the fraud.

According to Ogg, of the teachers who received false certifications, at least two were “sex offenders” who gained access to underage children on and off campus through their employment in the school system. The prosecutor’s office said one of the teachers was charged with indecency towards a child and the other with online solicitation.

The former coach was a whistleblower about the plan

According to Ogg, the former coach, who was applying for a police officer position in another part of Texas, “experienced an attack of conscience” and turned himself in to authorities about the plan.

“The most interesting irony to me in this cycle of greed is that even though the perpetrators are the people we entrust our children to, it was actually a Good Samaritan with a conscience that brought this scheme to light,” the district attorney said.

Ogg also said the program is “well known among teacher candidates seeking certification.” Levine said many teacher candidates came from “faraway cities” away from Houston, including Dallas-Fort Worth or beyond.

“Often, these individuals have not previously passed one or more certification exams,” Levine says. “Then they drove sometimes four or more hours to the Houston area and suddenly they passed the test with flying colors.”

Levine said that when Ogg’s office received the tip from the trainer, it learned the email address, phone number, payment app and ultimately the identities of the defendants. He added that investigators interviewed several dozen teachers, about 20 of them cooperated and all presented very similar versions of events.

How did the scheme work?

According to Levine, the scheme worked by having candidates pay Grayson about $2,500 and he, in turn, giving Mason about 20% of the money to make her willing to commit fraud, according to Levine. The candidate will then be informed where and when the test will take place, he added.

Levine said the candidate comes to a designated area, signs in and leaves a few minutes later. He said that after he was released, Newton came in, took the exam and passed it. Ogg’s office estimates that from May 2020 to February 2024, Newton took more than 430 certification tests by fraudulently impersonating teacher candidates.

According to Levine, in total, Grayson earned $1.09 million from the program, while Mason was paid at least $125,000 and Newton was paid more than $188,000. He added that Wilhite charged $250 each time she allowed a candidate to log in and leave.

“We count on teachers and coaches who help influence children’s behavior to provide them with a moral compass,” Levine said. “To think that so many people without what I consider a proper moral compass are trying to educate and influence children across the state is disturbing.”