Millions in ed fraud? Davis duo deny theft

Authorities say a Layton couple entrusted with routing federal education funds to Davis County students instead funneled millions into their own pockets to support a lavish lifestyle.

Federal officials say the financial fraud scheme that played out in the Davis County School District for years is particularly egregious, coming at a time when disadvantaged students are struggling to receive a good education.

According to a 47-count indictment unsealed Wednesday, Susan G. Ross, 62, and her husband, John Ross, 64, were employed by the school district and defrauded it of $4.3 million in "Title I" federal education funds geared toward helping disadvantaged, minority and disabled students between 2000 and 2005.

Federal officials say the couple used the money, which was supposed to go toward buying textbooks, to fund a "lavish lifestyle," including several properties, cars and expensive vacations.

The Rosses strongly deny the charges against them and say school district officials are hanging them out to dry to cover up years of mismanaged funds in which Title I money was inappropriately used to cover district shortfalls in other budgets.

"I did not steal a dime, and neither did my husband have anything to do with this," Susan Ross said in an interview Wednesday afternoon at her attorney's office. "It's just turned everything into an unbelievable nightmare."

A second indictment also charges a school district secretary with setting up her own scheme to defraud the district of more than $338,000 in federal grant funds.

"This is a particularly offensive case," said U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman, who said the couple had allegedly preyed on the "most vulnerable of society" — children and their education. "These individuals were given great trust by those in the education system."

According to the indictments, the Rosses managed large sums of federal grant money while working for the district.

Susan Ross, who has worked for the district since the early 1970s, was employed as director of federal programs from 1983 to 2005. John Ross, a former employee with the Utah Office of Education, worked as a grant specialist for the district between 2000 and 2005. Although the couple is only charged in that five-year period, Tolman said prosecutors believe the alleged scheme had been going on as far back as 1985, with potentially millions of dollars unaccounted for.

Federal officials claim the couple sold pirated textbooks at exorbitant prices using two shell companies. The indictment says the Rosses produced unauthorized copies of copyrighted books, specifically color photocopied and spiral-bound versions, and funneled them through a company, Notable Education Writing Services (NEWS), which the couple owned and controlled.

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