Schools paying for visas, immigration
for employees, prospective employees who were never hired,
and employees' dependents
Page created Dec 26, 2010; last updated Dec 14, 2012
A number of Gulen charter schools have used school funds to pay for visa or immigration costs, for employees, and in some cases also for individuals who were never hired, and the dependents or family members of employees or prospective employees. Such expenditures were either determined to not be an allowable use of state or federal funds, or were considered questionable and referred for further investigation. Some examples are given below. One point to note is that Gulenists themselves hold and control the accounting books of all Gulen charter schools, giving them a substantial amount of leeway in how these books are presented to any authorities that audit them.
Beehive Science and Technology Academy, Utah
From an article in the Deseret News, July 1, 2010:
“The school spent more than $53,000 on immigration fees for foreigners in five years. During the same time, administrators spent less than $100,000 on textbooks, according to state records.”
From an article in the Deseret News, July 1, 2010:
“The school spent more than $53,000 on immigration fees for foreigners in five years. During the same time, administrators spent less than $100,000 on textbooks, according to state records.”
Fulton Science Academy Middle School, Georgia
(Note: At the time this article was written, this school was a publicly-funded charter school. It has since converted to a private school.)
From article in New York Times, June 5, 2012 "Audits for 3 Georgia Schools Tied to Turkish Movement" by Stephanie Saul:
"A group of three publicly financed charter schools in Georgia run by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a prominent Turkish imam, have come under scrutiny after they defaulted on bonds and an audit found that the schools improperly granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts to businesses and groups, many of them with ties to the Gulen movement.
"The audit released Tuesday by the Fulton County Schools near Atlanta found the schools made purchases like T-shirts, teacher training and video production services from organizations with connections to school officials or Gulen followers." ......
"One criticism of the schools involves their reliance on teachers imported from Turkey while teacher unemployment in the United States remains high. The audit said the Fulton Science Academy Middle School had paid $75,000 in immigration-related expenses for such employees."
(Note: At the time this article was written, this school was a publicly-funded charter school. It has since converted to a private school.)
From article in New York Times, June 5, 2012 "Audits for 3 Georgia Schools Tied to Turkish Movement" by Stephanie Saul:
"A group of three publicly financed charter schools in Georgia run by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a prominent Turkish imam, have come under scrutiny after they defaulted on bonds and an audit found that the schools improperly granted hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts to businesses and groups, many of them with ties to the Gulen movement.
"The audit released Tuesday by the Fulton County Schools near Atlanta found the schools made purchases like T-shirts, teacher training and video production services from organizations with connections to school officials or Gulen followers." ......
"One criticism of the schools involves their reliance on teachers imported from Turkey while teacher unemployment in the United States remains high. The audit said the Fulton Science Academy Middle School had paid $75,000 in immigration-related expenses for such employees."
Horizon Science Academy Columbus, Ohio
From an article in the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Ohio, May 30, 2007
“State Auditor Mary Taylor also recovered $395 of $3,830 that Horizon paid to help a school employee, Kemal Gezgin, and his family obtain expedited visas so they could come from Turkey and live in the United States. In April, Gezgin repaid the portion of the legal fees prorated to his family members, who aren't school employees.”
From a press release of the Ohio Auditor of State, May 29, 2007:
"State Auditor Mary Taylor released the fiscal year 2006 audit for the Horizon Science Academy of Columbus today. The audit revealed that nearly $400 was inappropriately spent on legal fees for an employee’s family members."
From an article in the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus Ohio, May 30, 2007
“State Auditor Mary Taylor also recovered $395 of $3,830 that Horizon paid to help a school employee, Kemal Gezgin, and his family obtain expedited visas so they could come from Turkey and live in the United States. In April, Gezgin repaid the portion of the legal fees prorated to his family members, who aren't school employees.”
From a press release of the Ohio Auditor of State, May 29, 2007:
"State Auditor Mary Taylor released the fiscal year 2006 audit for the Horizon Science Academy of Columbus today. The audit revealed that nearly $400 was inappropriately spent on legal fees for an employee’s family members."
Further findings of the Auditor, June 30, 2005:
"FINDING NUMBER 2005-002
During fiscal year 2005, the School issued payments to Skelton, McQuiston, Gounaris & Henry, Attorneys at Law, for the purpose of assisting Ali Cifci [sic], who was not an employee of the School, with legal fees associated with the Citizenship and Immigration Service process, in the amounts of $600. Ali Cifci was a potential teacher who was never hired. There is no authority that allowed these payments to be made, nor does the nature of the expense relate to the School’s normal activities and operations. These payments were authorized by David Disli, Director, and issued by Mustafa Gulkesen, Treasurer.
In accordance with the foregoing facts and pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 117.28, a Finding for Recovery for public monies illegally expended would have been issued against Ali Cifci, Mustafa Gulkesen, Treasurer, Ohio Farmer’s Insurance Company, Mr. Gulkesen’s bonding company, and David Disli, Director, jointly and severally in the amount of $600.
The finding was repaid by Concepts Schools on September 1, 2006 and deposited into the School Treasury on September 6, 2006.
"FINDING NUMBER 2005-002
During fiscal year 2005, the School issued payments to Skelton, McQuiston, Gounaris & Henry, Attorneys at Law, for the purpose of assisting Ali Cifci [sic], who was not an employee of the School, with legal fees associated with the Citizenship and Immigration Service process, in the amounts of $600. Ali Cifci was a potential teacher who was never hired. There is no authority that allowed these payments to be made, nor does the nature of the expense relate to the School’s normal activities and operations. These payments were authorized by David Disli, Director, and issued by Mustafa Gulkesen, Treasurer.
In accordance with the foregoing facts and pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 117.28, a Finding for Recovery for public monies illegally expended would have been issued against Ali Cifci, Mustafa Gulkesen, Treasurer, Ohio Farmer’s Insurance Company, Mr. Gulkesen’s bonding company, and David Disli, Director, jointly and severally in the amount of $600.
The finding was repaid by Concepts Schools on September 1, 2006 and deposited into the School Treasury on September 6, 2006.
FINDING NUMBER 2005-003
During fiscal year 2005, the School issued payments to the Citizenship and Immigration Service and to Skelton, McQuiston, Gounaris & Henry, Attorneys at Law, for the purpose of assisting Fatma Karan and the dependent children of Harun Karan, a teacher at the School, with the cost of immigration applications and associated legal fees in the amounts of $195 and $600, respectively. Fatma Karan, the spouse of Harun Karan, was not an employee of the School. There is no authority that allowed these payments to be made, nor does the nature of the expense relate to the School’s normal activities and operations.
In accordance with the foregeoing facts and pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 117.28, a Finding for Recovery for public monies illegally expended would have been issued against Fatma Karan and Harun Karan, jointly and severally in the amount of $795. The finding was repaid by Harun Karan on September 5, 2006 and deposited into the School Treasury on September 6, 2006."
(Note: Mustafa Gulkesen appears as Steve Gulkesen in other school documents.)
During fiscal year 2005, the School issued payments to the Citizenship and Immigration Service and to Skelton, McQuiston, Gounaris & Henry, Attorneys at Law, for the purpose of assisting Fatma Karan and the dependent children of Harun Karan, a teacher at the School, with the cost of immigration applications and associated legal fees in the amounts of $195 and $600, respectively. Fatma Karan, the spouse of Harun Karan, was not an employee of the School. There is no authority that allowed these payments to be made, nor does the nature of the expense relate to the School’s normal activities and operations.
In accordance with the foregeoing facts and pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 117.28, a Finding for Recovery for public monies illegally expended would have been issued against Fatma Karan and Harun Karan, jointly and severally in the amount of $795. The finding was repaid by Harun Karan on September 5, 2006 and deposited into the School Treasury on September 6, 2006."
(Note: Mustafa Gulkesen appears as Steve Gulkesen in other school documents.)
Horizon Science Academy Dayton, Ohio
The following are excerpts from a report by the Auditor of the State of Ohio, dated June 30, 2006
"Finding for Recovery - Repaid
"During the period ended June 30, 2006, Horizon Science Academy-Dayton issued the following payments to Concept Schools, Inc. (the Academy’s Management Company), to reimburse the management company for expenditures made to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the United States Department of Homeland Security, Robert A. Perkins & Associates, Karen D. Bradley, and Ant Travel for the purpose of assisting with the cost of Citizenship and Immigration applications and associated legal fees and travel in the amounts of:
Kazim Eldes - Concept Schools, Inc. Invoice #1534
Dependent Application Fee $195.00
Omer Yaliniz - Concept Schools, Inc. Invoice #1534
Legal Fees 600.00
Amanmyrat Gurdov - Concept Schools, Inc. Invoice #1614
Air Travel (Gurdov and his family) 1,597.75
Total Finding for Recovery $2,392.75
"There is no authority that allowed these payments to be made, nor does the nature of the expense relate to the Academy’s normal activities and operations.
"Ohio Revised Code Section 3314.01(B) states in part that a community school is a public school…and is part of the state's program of education. There is no demonstrable connection between these payments and the state’s program of education.
"In accordance with the foregoing facts and pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 117.28, a finding for recovery for public monies illegally expended is hereby issued against Concept Schools, Inc., in the amount of $2,392.75 and in favor of Horizon Science Academy – Dayton. The Academy received a check from Concepts School for $2,392.75 on November 7, 2007 as repayment.
"Officials’ Response: This finding should be removed or modified to the extent that any expenses were attributable to the immigration of an employee’s dependents."
(Note that Ant Travel, one of the entities receiving unauthorized payments, is a Gulenist business.)
Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology
From a newspaper article in the Herald News (West Paterson, NJ), September 25, 2007:
“The school, which started in 2003, also was investigated by the state and cited for several problems, including staff certification issues, possible ghost employees, tenure violations, improper payments of immigration fees for some employees and apparent favoritism for Turkish staff members. Many members of the school's board of trustees and some top administrators are Turkish.”
From a newspaper article in the Herald News (West Paterson, NJ), September 25, 2007:
“The school, which started in 2003, also was investigated by the state and cited for several problems, including staff certification issues, possible ghost employees, tenure violations, improper payments of immigration fees for some employees and apparent favoritism for Turkish staff members. Many members of the school's board of trustees and some top administrators are Turkish.”
Sonoran Science Academy
From an audit by the United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, Nov 19, 2003:
"The Sonoran Science Academy's Use of U.S. Department of Education Funds for the Period August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002," ED-OIG/A05-D0028
"For the project period, the Academy charged $20,5192 to the PCSP grant for costs that were unallowable. We reviewed expense descriptions recorded in the Academy’s accounting records. We also judgmentally selected 13 expenses totaling $109,263 from the 134 expenses totaling $159,485 charged to the PCSP grant for the project period. We reviewed invoices and cancelled checks supporting these 13 expenses. Our review of the expense descriptions, invoices, and canceled checks disclosed that the Academy charged
"1. Eight expenses totaling $15,186 for costs incurred prior to the start of the grant award period (August 1, 2001). One of the eight expenses totaling $5,408 consisted of prepaid construction costs that were refunded to the Director but not documented in the Academy’s accounting records. Four of the eight expenses totaling $7,200 were for fees paid to a teacher exchange organization (see number 2).
"2. Six expenses totaling $11,250 for fees paid to a teacher exchange organization hired by the Academy to facilitate hiring teachers from foreign countries. We discussed this type of expense with a program official who informed us that these costs would not be an allowable use of PCSP grant funds. (...)
"The Academy commented that it used PCSP funds to hire a teacher exchange organization to assist them with attracting, recruiting, and hiring educators that had an emphasis in mathematics and science. The Academy hired this organization because Arizona was suffering from a severe mathematics and science teacher shortage. This organization assisted the Academy to ensure that it hired the most qualified and competent staff for the open positions at the Academy.
"The Academy did not provide convincing evidence supporting that it had a difficult time hiring mathematics and science educators on its own. This cost was not an initial implementation cost and should not have been paid with PCSP funds."
From an audit by the United States Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, Nov 19, 2003:
"The Sonoran Science Academy's Use of U.S. Department of Education Funds for the Period August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002," ED-OIG/A05-D0028
"For the project period, the Academy charged $20,5192 to the PCSP grant for costs that were unallowable. We reviewed expense descriptions recorded in the Academy’s accounting records. We also judgmentally selected 13 expenses totaling $109,263 from the 134 expenses totaling $159,485 charged to the PCSP grant for the project period. We reviewed invoices and cancelled checks supporting these 13 expenses. Our review of the expense descriptions, invoices, and canceled checks disclosed that the Academy charged
"1. Eight expenses totaling $15,186 for costs incurred prior to the start of the grant award period (August 1, 2001). One of the eight expenses totaling $5,408 consisted of prepaid construction costs that were refunded to the Director but not documented in the Academy’s accounting records. Four of the eight expenses totaling $7,200 were for fees paid to a teacher exchange organization (see number 2).
"2. Six expenses totaling $11,250 for fees paid to a teacher exchange organization hired by the Academy to facilitate hiring teachers from foreign countries. We discussed this type of expense with a program official who informed us that these costs would not be an allowable use of PCSP grant funds. (...)
"The Academy commented that it used PCSP funds to hire a teacher exchange organization to assist them with attracting, recruiting, and hiring educators that had an emphasis in mathematics and science. The Academy hired this organization because Arizona was suffering from a severe mathematics and science teacher shortage. This organization assisted the Academy to ensure that it hired the most qualified and competent staff for the open positions at the Academy.
"The Academy did not provide convincing evidence supporting that it had a difficult time hiring mathematics and science educators on its own. This cost was not an initial implementation cost and should not have been paid with PCSP funds."
Wisconsin Career Academy
(Note: At the time this report was written, this school was a publicly-funded charter school. It has since converted to a private school.)
From a Special Review report by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, Office of Audit Services, February 2008: (note: MPS = Milwaukee Public Schools)
“Between July 1, 2006 and January 15. 2008, the school charged the MPS charter school grant for $24,568 of legal bills (refer to Exhibit 1) related to immigration charges for school staff and, in some cases, their dependents. These charges were related to seven different individuals with four having fees paid for their dependents. Of the seven individuals, six were employed at the school (five in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and one in 2007-08). One individual was not employed at the school at all, but the school charged MPS $1,390 for legal fees. These charges do not typically appear on other MPS charter school transaction registers and may not be reasonable and ordinary charter school operating costs. DDCS should consider disallowing the $1,390 of immigration costs for this individual. In addition, DDCS should meet with WCA and determine whether the other immigration costs should be allowed under the contract.”
(Note: At the time this report was written, this school was a publicly-funded charter school. It has since converted to a private school.)
From a Special Review report by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors, Office of Audit Services, February 2008: (note: MPS = Milwaukee Public Schools)
“Between July 1, 2006 and January 15. 2008, the school charged the MPS charter school grant for $24,568 of legal bills (refer to Exhibit 1) related to immigration charges for school staff and, in some cases, their dependents. These charges were related to seven different individuals with four having fees paid for their dependents. Of the seven individuals, six were employed at the school (five in 2006-07 and 2007-08 and one in 2007-08). One individual was not employed at the school at all, but the school charged MPS $1,390 for legal fees. These charges do not typically appear on other MPS charter school transaction registers and may not be reasonable and ordinary charter school operating costs. DDCS should consider disallowing the $1,390 of immigration costs for this individual. In addition, DDCS should meet with WCA and determine whether the other immigration costs should be allowed under the contract.”