Charges announced in connection with cheating scandal that led to illegally certified teachers working in Houston-area school districts, prosecutor says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Authorities in Houston announced charges Monday against five people allegedly involved in a multimillion-dollar teacher certification fraud scandal.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and prosecutors spoke during a press conference at 2 p.m., detailing an alleged cheating scandal that they say led to certified teachers working illegally in local school districts.

The prosecutor’s office provided the following names of people who probably took part in the operation:

Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, is charged with orchestrating the fraud.

Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, a former VA director/certifying officer at the Houston Training and Education Center, was the proctor of the tests, which the official said allowed her to avoid detection of the proxy program.

Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, allegedly participated in the program as an alternate test taker.

It is alleged that Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a promoter at TACTIX, took bribes to allow Newton to act as a testing proxy.

LaShonda Roberts, 39, an assistant principal at Yates High School in HISD, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the fraud.

According to officials, each of them was charged with two counts of participating in organized criminal activities.

Investigators suspect that as many as 400 tests were conducted and that at least 200 teachers received false certificates.

“This plan goes as far as our investigation goes – to May 2020.” – Ogg said during Monday’s press conference. “We know that the co-defendants made a total of at least $1 million.”

Ogg said that of the several hundred people who obtained the illegal certificate, two of them were child sexual predators, adding that the false certificate allowed them to commit crimes.

“It’s very disturbing,” said Mike Levine, chief of the district attorney’s office’s public corruption unit. “Because teachers – especially teachers and coaches who help influence children’s behavior – we count on them for their moral compass. Some of what they do goes beyond their mastery of the subject.”

The District Attorney’s Office urges anyone with information about these certificates to contact their local police or Crime Stoppers.

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