Des Moines, Iowa (AP) — The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district has been indicted by a federal grand jury after authorities mentioned he falsely claimed to be a US citizen who was eligible to work.
A two-count indictment returned Thursday night by a federal grand jury in Des Moines fees Ian Roberts with one depend of constructing a false assertion for employment and one depend of being an unlawful alien in possession of a firearm.
Roberts, who’s initially from Guyana and labored for 20 years at school districts throughout the nation, was detained September 26 by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement brokers in a focused operation.
Authorities mentioned Roberts fled from agents in his district-issued Jeep Cherokee earlier than being present in a wooded space. Roberts had a handgun wrapped in a towel contained in the automotive, investigators mentioned.
Des Moines Public Schools employed Roberts in 2023 to guide its district of about 30,000 college students.
The indictment alleges that he made a “false attestation” on a US Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Eligibility Verification kind, generally known as an I-9, claiming he was a US citizen when he knew he was not.
Roberts’ legal professional, Alfredo Parrish, didn’t instantly return a cellphone message.
Federal authorities mentioned an immigration decide issued a closing elimination order final 12 months, and an enchantment to reopen immigration proceedings was rejected earlier this 12 months.
After his detention by ICE, Roberts was transferred to federal custody October 2 on an arrest warrant and charged with unlawfully possessing firearms whereas being within the US illegally. In addition to the one in his car when he was arrested, three different weapons had been discovered throughout a search of Roberts’ house, authorities mentioned. The indictment mentions all 4 weapons, together with two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun.
The district continues to face the fallout, filing a lawsuit towards the consulting agency it used to facilitate the superintendent search in 2023.
After an AP investigation recognized a historical past of Roberts’ faculty districts hiring a agency that marketed him as a marketing consultant, Jackie Norris, faculty board chair, proposed a evaluation of his expenditures in Des Moines. Norris additionally ended her campaign for US Senate on Thursday.