5 people charged in alleged teacher certification cheating scandal, Harris County DA says
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Authorities in Houston announced charges against five people allegedly involved in a million-dollar teacher certification cheating scandal on Monday.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and prosecutors spoke during a 2 p.m. press conference detailing the alleged cheating scandal that they say led to illegally certified teachers working in area school districts.
The DA's office provided the following names of the people believed to have been part of the operation:
- Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, is accused of organizing the cheating scheme.
- Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, was a test proctor, which official said allowed her to keep the proxy scheme undetected.
- Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, allegedly participated in the scheme as the proxy test-taker.
- 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, an assistant principal at Yates High School in HISD, is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in the cheating scheme.
According to officials, they all face two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity.
Investigators said they suspect as many as 400 tests were taken, and at least 200 teachers were falsely certified.
"This scheme goes back as far as our investigation can take it - to May 2020," Ogg said during Monday's press conference. "We know that the co-defendants collectively profited in the amount of at least $1 million."
Ogg said among the several hundred people who were illegally certified, two of them were child sexual predators, adding that it was through this false certification that allowed them to commit the crimes.
"It's very troubling," Mike Levine, a felony chief in the DA Office's Public Corruption Division, said. "Because teachers - especially teachers and coaches who help influence children's behavior - we count on them for their moral compass. A part of what they do goes beyond their mastery of their subject matter."
The DA's office urges anyone with information about these certifications to contact local police or Crime Stoppers.
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