Roughly 200 unqualified teachers working in Texas were given fake certifications
Two of the falsely certified teachers are sexual predators who were then given access to children, the Harris County DA said
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Roughly 200 instructors in Texas were carrying fraudulent teaching accreditations, and now five people have been charged in connection to the massive scheme that saw sexual predators and unqualified educators put in classrooms, officials announced.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced that five people, who have been allegedly falsely certified to teach in Texas, now each face two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity — money laundering and tampering with a government document — charges that carry sentences ranging from two years to life in prison. The co-defendants collectively profited by at least $1 million, she said.
“They are accused of running a fraudulent teacher certification testing scheme that utilized a test-taking proxy or teacher impersonator to take the test along with a corrupt testing proctor that allowed the switch to take place,” Ogg said at a Monday news conference.
This scheme, which dates back to May 2020, was used to certify 200 “unqualified teachers” who are now teaching in public schools in districts across the state, the district attorney said.
Two of them include “two sexual predators,” who had access to children once they were given their false certifications, she said. One has been charged with indecency with a child and another with online solicitation.
Ogg named the five individuals who have been charged. She described Vincent Grayson, the head boys’ basketball coach at Booker T Washington High School, as the “kingpin and organizer of this scheme.”
Tywana Gilford Mason, who worked at Houston Training and Education Center, was allegedly the proctor in the scam. The center was shut down in 2023 due to suspicious activity, officials said.
Nicholas Newton, an assistant principal at Booker T Washington High School, is accused of serving as the proxy test-taker.
Darian Nikole Wilhite, a proctor at Tactix, was also a “corrupt testing proctor,” Ogg said.
LaShonda Roberts, an assistant principal at Jack Yates High School, is accused of recruiting those to participate in the scheme.
While “the extent of this scheme will never fully be known,” the DA’s office found that at least 400 tests were taken and that the co-defendants profited by at least $1 million, she revealed. She called it a “circle of greed.”
Michael Levine, the felony chief of the District Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Division, explained how the scheme unfolded.
Certification candidates would pay Grayson — usually $2,500 — and then he would send 20 percent of that amount to Mason for her “willingness to allow the cheating to occur,” he explained. Grayson then told the candidate where to take the test. When they arrived, Newton would take the test on their behalf.
“On occasion, Mr Newton would take more than one test,” Levine said. He was apparently logged in as two different people when “caught red-handed” in February 2024.
Grayson alone has made over $1 million from the scheme, while Gilford Mason was paid nearly $125,000 by Grayson via hundreds of transactions on Zelle and CashApp, officials said.
Newton was paid over $180,000; he is estimated to have fraudulently taken 430 certification tests. Newton was caught in the act and “he gave essentially a full confession,” Levine said.
Roberts is believed to have sent over 90 candidates to participate in the scheme and sent over $267,000 to Grayson, “frequently profiting along the way,” he added.
When the Houston Training and Education Center was shut down, Grayson moved the scheme’s location to Tactix in Houston. That’s when Wilhaite entered the picture. “She willingly participated and accepted cash bribes in the amount of $250 each time” a candidate participated in the scam, Levine said.
Investigators identified a pattern – candidates coming into the Houston area from hours away and passing the teaching certification tests with “flying colors,” he added.
The investigation is ongoing, officials said.