Former maintenance director indicted on charges alleging scheme to defraud Boone County schools out of $3.4 million

Date: Dec. 11, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Charleston, WV - A federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment yesterday charging Michael David Barker of Foster, with mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and money laundering. The indictment was unsealed today following Barker's arrest by law enforcement officers.

The indictment alleges that from in or about November 2019 through in or about December 2023, Barker was serving as maintenance director when he entered into a scheme to defraud the Boone County Board of Education out of approximately $3,400,000.

Barker was maintenance director from in or about 2015 through in or about November 2023, and was responsible for ordering supplies necessary for the maintenance of the Boone County schools. Barker falsified documents showing that the Boone County Board of Education was receiving large amounts of janitorial and custodial products including hand soap, trash can liners, and face masks from Rush Enterprises, a Kentucky business with an office in Kenova, West Virginia, when the Boone County Board of Education was only receiving a small amount of those products.

Acting in his capacity as maintenance director, Barker submitted fraudulent invoices and purchase orders that caused the Boone County Board of Education to pay for more than $4,000,000 of products from Rush Enterprises. During calendar years 2022 and 2023, for example, Barker submitted invoices to the Boone County Board of Education that caused them to pay Rush Enterprises for 4,993 cases of hand soap when, in fact, the Boone County Board of Education had only received approximately 829 cases. The Boone County Board of Education paid approximately $474,696 for hand soap that was never delivered.

Rush Enterprises was operated by Jesse Marks, who is named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the indictment. Barker and Marks conspired to overbill the Boone County Board of Education for the undelivered products and split the proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. Barker received approximately $2,000,000 as a result of the fraudulent scheme, and then used his share of the proceeds to make extravagant purchases for his personal benefit.

From at least in or about March 2020 through in or about December 2023, Barker, Marks and other persons conspired to commit mail fraud as part of the scheme to defraud the Boone County Board of Education. The fraudulent invoices and purchase orders submitted by Barker caused the Boone County Board of Education to send a series of checks through the United States Mail to Rush Enterprises. Marks deposited those checks into his business account for Rush Enterprises, wrote checks from his business account to himself, cashed those checks at multiple banks, and paid Barker his share of the proceeds from the fraudulent scheme with the cash. Marks delivered cash payments to Barker in person at various locations in Boone County during the time period.

The Boone County Board of Education received federal funds annually in excess of $10,000 during the 2021, 2022 and 2023 fiscal years, and the money fraudulently obtained by Barker through his scheme included federal funds. Barker also laundered proceeds of his fraudulent scheme by purchasing a utility vehicle and making down payments toward the purchase of a track loader and excavator.

Barker is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, 11 counts of mail fraud, three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and three counts of money laundering. If convicted, Barker faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy count and each mail fraud count, and up to 10 years in prison for each theft and money laundering count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

"At a time when Boone County Schools faced significant challenges, particularly while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Barker used his position of authority to enrich himself at the expense of the children of Boone County," said United States Attorney Will Thompson. "Mr. Barker's scheme siphoned millions of much-needed dollars from our public schools, and the indictment unsealed today seeks to hold him accountable for his criminal actions."

Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Auditor's Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU), and the assistance provided by the West Virginia Department of Education.

"Mr. Barker was entrusted with the responsibility of ordering supplies necessary for the maintenance of the Boone County schools. Instead, he allegedly exploited his position at the school to launder millions of dollars to enrich himself", said Kareem Carter, Executive Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office. "Today's indictment should serve as an example of IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners commitment to continue to work together to hold accountable and disrupt bad actors like the defendant. "

"This scheme not only defrauded the public of their money, but it also directly impacted the health, safety, and wellbeing of the most vulnerable in our community: our children," said FBI Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek. "Rather than supporting educators and ensuring resources for students were available, this individual instead sought to line his own pockets. The FBI and our partners remain committed to holding those responsible accountable and seeking justice for victims."

"Today's action alleges that Mr. Barker not only abused his position of trust for personal gain but did so at the expense of Boone County students. That is unacceptable," said John Carlo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Eastern Regional Office. "OIG will continue to aggressively pursue those who misappropriate education funds for their own purposes. West Virginia's students and taxpayers deserve nothing less."

"Barker isn't just accused of stealing much needed funds from Boone County schools and its students, he stole from all West Virginians and taxpayers throughout the country," said West Virginia State Auditor JB McCuskey. "This type of fraud has not been tolerated under my watch in local government through our PIFU and I'm proud of the work we have done to help our partners in the United States Attorney's Office to root out this behavior and send the message that you will be held accountable."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabriel Price is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.

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