The Ponca City News

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museums, historic sites www.okhistory.org.
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2019
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i- The Kay County Republi-
Page cans will begin their month-
A003 of
n, ly meetings once again with
Clip n their first meeting since May
resized scheduled for Thursday,
73% e
e- Aug. 22 at Pioneer Technol-
e ogy Center 2101 N. Ash in
Ponca City at 7 p.m.
The keynote speaker for
the meeting will be Todd
Thomsen who beginning
December 2018 became the
Managing Director of Com-
munity Relations for Epic
Charter Schools. Prior to
this Thompson served in the
Oklahoma House of Repre-
sentatives for 12 years for
District 25. As a Legislator,
Thomsen was Vice Chairman
Of Education, Chairman of
Higher Education, Majority
Whip and completed his time
as the Utilities Chairman. Todd Thomsen
As Utilities Chairman Thom- tant. He is a 1985 graduate
sen helped carry important from Sapulpa High School
legislation to overhaul and where he was an undefeated
reform the Oklahoma Uni- State Champion wrestler his
versal Service Fund which senior year and Quarterback
helps provide broadband and Kicker for the Chieftain
access to Schools, Hospitals football team.
and Libraries along with Upon graduation from High
Legislation to set the frame- School Thomsen attended
work for 5G implementation OU where he was the kick-
across the state. off specialist, punter and
In addition to being a State holder for the Sooners from
Rep, Thomsen was the East ‘85-‘88. As the Sooners punt-
Central Oklahoma Fellow- er he held the Orange Bowl
ship Of Christian Athletes punting record for 14 years
Representative for 29 years. and was a 1987 Academic
He organized and direct- All American. Todd gradu-
ed camps, rallies and con- ated from OU with a degree
certs with the likes of Lau- in Management Information
ren Daigle, Casting Crowns, Systems.
Lecrae, Kristene DiMarco Above all of the career
of Bethel Music, Shane & and athletic achievements,
Shane, Barlow Girl, Nicole C Todd is first and foremost
Mullen and many more. husband and father. He and
Todd grew up in Sapul- his wife Melanie are in their
pa where his dad was an 30th year of marriage and
OHP trooper and his mom live in Ada along with their
an Hospital Executive Assis- five children.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Clip
Aug 2019 Page resized
22 A001 63%

The Ardmoreite

OKLAHOMA WATCH

State investigation of Epic Charter School expands

By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
A state investigation into Epic
Charter Schools has expanded to
include the school’s chief financial
officer and four current or former
board members, according to a
search warrant filed in Oklahoma
County Wednesday.
In the affidavit for the search
warrant, an Oklahoma State Bu-
reau of Investigation agent alleges
Epic has been using state-appro-
priated funds to pay for students’
extracurricular expenses through
independent vendors but reported
those expenditures to the state as
“instructional services,” which the
OSBI agent alleges is fraud.
Named in the affidavit are Josh
Brock, the school’s CFO, who made
the purchases, as well as Doug
Scott, Travis Burkett, Mike Cantrell
and Peter Regan, who are being
investigated for allegedly neglect-
ing their duty as board members
to oversee the school’s operations.
The search warrant was first re-
ported by the Tulsa World.
The OSBI on Wednesday seized
a laptop and bank statements from
OKC Storm Athletics, a Christian
sports vendor for home-school stu-
dents, according to its website. Epic
SEE WATCH, PAGE 3

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 Clip
Aug 2019 Page resized From
22 A003 48% A001
The Ardmoreite
WATCH
Continued from Page 1
pays vendors for student
activities through what
Epic calls its “Learning
Fund.”
The affidavit is the
latest in an ongoing in-
vestigation into financial
wrongdoing at the state’s
largest virtual charter
school.
Epic has denied any
wrongdoing, and on
Wednesday afternoon is-
sued a statement saying,
“Epic and its founders
will continue to cooperate
with investigators, who
have now been probing
the school for more than
six years. It is important
to note that no charges
have ever been filed. We
are confident that the
end result of this inves-
tigation will be as it has
always been – no finding
of wrongdoing.”
Epic is the only virtual
school in Oklahoma that
uses a “learning fund’ –
essentially a portion of
each student’s state fund-
ing ($800 to $1,000) that
is set aside to be used
on curriculum, a laptop
rental, art supplies, work-
books, and other items
of the family’s choosing.
Families also use the
funds on a variety of ex-
tracurricular activities,
like club sports, martial
arts, dancing or summer
camps.
Parents don’t actually
receive the money directly
but instead request a pur-
chase from Epic, which
, p
then pays the vendors di-
rectly. The school now has
more than 1,200 vendors.
The learning fund is a
big recruitment tool to
attract families, and fam-
ilies who refer new stu-
dents are rewarded with
an additional deposit into
their student’s fund.
According to the affi-
davit, Epic in 2012 was
advised by an attorney
for its sponsoring school
district at the time,
Graham-Dustin Public
Schools, that using the
learning fund for extra-
curricular activities when
the students received no
elective credit would vio-
late state law.
David Chaney, a busi-
nessman who co-founded
the school, then opened a
checking account for the
learning fund and trans-
ferred state funds to it,
which Brock used to pay
for students’ extracurricu-
lar activities, the affidavit
states. Those purchases
did not appear on Epic’s
general fund payment
register and were report-
ed to the state as “instruc-
tional services.”
Rebecca Wilkinson,
executive director of the
We know the
...and everything else about Home Improvement!
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*Insured
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
, y
Statewide Virtual Char-
ter School Board, told the
OSBI agent instructional
expenditures “must be
a course supported by a
teacher of record, a re-
corded grade and includ-
ed on the transcript,” the
affidavit states. In many
cases, these weren’t. The
agent cites a statute he
says is evidence the school
committed fraud.
The agent in the affi-
davit accuses Chaney
and Brock of concealing
fraudulent expenditures
“by disguising the pay-
ments as instructional
services” and falsifying
corporate records.
The OSBI agent report-
ed at least two instances
when Epic used vendors
who were convicted fel-
ons.
The OSBI is also inves-
tigating whether Burkett,
Cantrell, Regan and Scott
neglected their duties as
board members in viola-
tion of the law. Cantrell,
head of an oil and gas
company in Ada, is a cur-
rent board member and
Scott, a Tulsa attorney,
is chairman. Burkett and
Regan are no longer on
the board.
Drill
y
This search warrant is 2018, that affidavit states. The school is also fac-
the second in as many The OSBI’s investiga- ing a potential lawsuit by
months filed by the OSBI. tion into Epic has been several former teachers,
In July, the agents seized ongoing since 2013. who say they were pres-
an Epic teacher’s com- When it’s complete, the sured into withdrawing
puter and cell phone in agency is expected to and re-enrolling students
search of evidence relat- present its findings to the to manipulate enrollment
ed to alleged embezzle- Oklahoma County district to improve the school’s
ment of state funds and attorney for possible filing report card grade.
obtaining money under of criminal charges. Oklahoma Watch is a
false pretenses, including In addition, the school nonprofit, tax-exempt,
through the use of “ghost is undergoing an investi- 501(c)(3) corporation
students” who didn’t ac- gative audit by the State whose mission is to pro-
tually receive instruction Auditor & Inspector, and duce in-depth and inves-
through the school. at least two federal probes tigative journalism on
The school’s co-found- – by the Federal Bureau public-policy and quali-
ers, Chaney and Ben Har- of Investigation and the ty-of-life issues facing the
ris, split profits of $10 U.S. Department of Ed- state.
million between 2013 and ucation.
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QUESTIONS? Nathan Thompson | 918 335 8240 | nthompson@examiner enterprise.com

EPIC CHARTER SCHOOLS

Aug
22 OSBI conducts second search in investigation
By Nuria Martinez-Keel
GateHouse Oklahoma
2019 The OSBI has seized new
evidence in an embezzle-
ment investigation into
Page Epic Charter Schools.
In a search warrant affi-
A008 davit filed Wednesday,
agents raised new allega-
Clip tions of forgery and willful
neglect against Epic, the
resized state’s largest virtual
30% charter school system.
The OSBI searched the
home of Kurt Talbott, of
OKC Storm Athletics, an
Epic vendor. Investigators
alleged the home-school
athletics organization
unlawfully received state
funds from Epic.
“Kurt Talbott employed
over a dozen coaches who
were not certified teach-
ers and provided direct
instruction to players,”
OSBI agent Tommy
Johnson reported in the
search warrant. “Kurt
Talbott admitted that
state appropriated funds
were used to buy uni-
forms for Epic students,
cover some of the costs of
paying the coaches, and
other expenses of the OKC
Storm.”
Talbott told Johnson
that he directly invoiced
Epic for players’ fees,
uniforms and train-
ing. OKC Storm coaches
home-school students in
basketball, swimming,
tennis, cross country,
track, golf, pom and
volleyball.
When reached by
phone, Talbott said
he would speak with a
reporter later, but he did
not return further calls for
comment.
Epic has denied any
Epic concealed unlaw-
ful payments to students’
families and vendors by
having its private man-
agement company, Epic
Youth Services, make
the transactions, accord-
ing to the warrant. Epic
Youth Services is owned
by Epic co-founders David
Chaney and Ben Harris,
and it receives a portion of
the school’s state-appro-
priated funds to manage
the virtual system.
Chaney opened a bank
account for Epic Youth
Services to pay money
to vendors and students’
families for extracur-
riculars. Chief Financial
Officer Josh Brock told
investigators he trans-
ferred $1,229,700 of state
appropriated funds into
the bank account for the
2012-2013 school year,
Johnson reported. Brock
has transferred an equal or
greater amount each year
since 2013.
Investigators alleged
the virtual school masked
the payments by direct-
ing funds to Epic Youth
Services under the code
“instructional services.”
Epic Youth Services then
paid 1,200 vendors, who
weren’t all certified to A sign outside of an Oklahoma City office complex shows a location for Epic Charter Schools. The state’s largest virtual charter school
instruct students for has been under scrutiny by agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. JIM BECKEL/GATEHOUSE OKLAHOMA
public school purposes.
Instructional services pleaded guilty to mort- students received $800 to instruction from Epic, learning fund purchases
must be a course sup- gage fraud in Florida $1,000 from Epic’s learn- according to the July included furniture, musi-
ported by a teacher of federal court in 2010. ing fund to enroll in the search warrant. cal instruments, toys,
record, a recorded grade The principal, iden- virtual school, the OSBI Agents reviewed bank laptop computers, games,
and included on the tified as Ms. LDW, alleged. statements that showed horseback riding and
transcript. converted RHCA into a Many of the home- Brock spent hundreds of Karate lessons, accord-
Members of Epic’s tutoring center under school parents welcomed thousands of dollars to ing to the warrant.
Board of Education – the “Epic model” and the payments, but they buy non-instructional
Travis Burkett, Mike enrolled her students in had no intent for their items for ghost students, — Nolan Clay contrib-
Cantrell, Peter Regan Epic. children to receive the warrant states. These uted to this report.
and Doug Scott – com- Students at the learning
mitted willful neglect center received half of the
by authorizing the pay- state-required hours of

o S o c i al
wrongdoing throughout ments without exercising instruction, and none of
the investigation. proper oversight, the the staff were state cer-

nt
“Epic and its founders OSBI alleged. Only Scott tified teachers.
will continue to cooperate and Cantrell still remain Johnson also found Epic
with investigators, who on Epic’s board. accepted a vendor who
M
I

have now been probing the The OSBI also alleged was convicted of felony
Dive

driving under the influ-

edia

school for more than six the evidence in the case

years,” the school said in
a statement Wednesday.
“It is important to note
that no charges have ever
been filed. We are confi-
dent that the end result of
this investigation will be
as it has always been – no
finding of wrongdoing.
“We are unable to
elaborate beyond this
statement due to the fact
that the school has not
been provided the affida-
vit that has been provided
to some members of the
media.”
Epic was advised in 2012
that it is illegal to use state
funds for extracurricular
activities where students
receive no elective credit,
according to the warrant
filed in Oklahoma County
District Court.
showed Brock and Epic
co-founder David Chaney
jointly committed embez-
zlement and forgery.
Once the investigation
concludes, the OSBI is
expected to present the
evidence to Oklahoma
County District Attorney
David Prater, who would
decide whether to file
criminal charges.
Johnson found at least
two instances where Epic
paid money to convicted
felons to provide direct
instruction to students
in violation of state law,
according to the warrant.
Chaney personally
helped form a relationship
with an Oklahoma City
sectarian school, iden-
tified as RHCA, whose
founder and principal
ence in Payne County in
2016, according to the
warrant. The vendor
advertised as a personal
trainer and offered direct
instruction to students
for physical training.
Last month, agents
seized a laptop and a cell-
Sw s
eepstake
phone from the Oklahoma
City home of an Epic
teacher. Agents alleged in
the previous search war-
rant that Epic embezzled
millions of taxpayer dol-
lars and dual-enrolled
“ghost students,” who
Ramp up social advertising
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received little to no
instruction from the vir-
tual school.
These students either
were home-schooled or
were enrolled in private It’s no secret that consumers are now turning to
and sectarian schools. social media for purchasing decisions. Is your
The families of these
business showing up on their newsfeed? If not,
you could be missing out! With our Dive Into Social

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 The Lawton Constitution

BRIEFS
Man at center of ‘Innocent Man’
documentary may soon be free
MUSKOGEE — A federal judge has placed the man
Aug at the center of a documentary series “The Innocent
Man” on the path to potential freedom.
22 U.S. District Judge James Payne of Muskogee, Okla-
homa, has ruled there was reasonable doubt that Karl
P Fontenot (FAHN’-teh-noh) should have been con-
2019 victed in 1988 in the kidnapping and killing of Ada
convenience store clerk Denice Haraway in 1984.
Payne gave the state 120 days to grant Fontenot a
Page new trial or release him permanently.
A003 Fontenot’s case was the focus of the John Grisham
book “The Innocent Man” and a later Netflix docu-
Clip mentary series by the same name.
resized In Payne’s opinion filed Wednesday, he found that
41% Fontenot’s mental illnesses raised serious questions
about the validity of his uncorroborated confession.
Fontenot’s account of what happened came from a
dream he says he had about the killing.
-
.
- Investigators raid online
charter school’s vendor
d
OKLAHOMA CITY — State investigators have
s
raided a vendor for an online Oklahoma charter school
s
whose enrollment, funding and some of its leaders are
e
at the center of an investigation.
s
- Agents from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Inves-
tigation searched the home of a man who runs a non-
p profit that works with Epic Charter Schools to provide
- coaching services for sports. The search warrant affi-
e davit filed Wednesday raises new allegations of em-
- bezzlement, forgery and other violations against Epic
co-founder and former superintendent David Chaney,
r chief financial officer Josh Brock, and two present and
- two former board members.
s
d Prosecutors seek death sentence
in deputy’s death
OKLAHOMA CITY — Prosecutors are asking ju-
rors to return a death sentence for a man convicted of
shooting an Oklahoma sheriff ’s deputy to death.
The sentencing phase of the trial of 47-year-old Na-
than LeForce began Wednesday, a day after jurors con-
victed him of first-degree murder in the April 18, 2017,
shooting death of 40-year-old Logan County Deputy
David Wade. Wade was fatally wounded while serving
an eviction notice at a home near Mulhall, 50 miles (80
n kilometers) north of Oklahoma City.
d LeForce was also convicted on charges of larceny of
a vehicle and armed robbery. Jurors recommended sen-
e tences of 30 years and 37 years respectively.
e LeForce faces sentences of death or life in prison on
d the murder charge. Defense attorneys plan to call more
w than 25 witnesses during the sentencing phase of Le-
Force’s trial.
t
,
r Woman charged with racist
k vandalism hospitalized
e
t NORMAN — A woman charged with spray-paint-
a ing racist, anti-gay and anti-Semitic graffiti on the
t county Democratic Party’s offices, an art center and an
e elementary school in Norman, Oklahoma, was hospi-
l talized for medical and mental health treatment.
Court documents show that on Aug. 1, 45-year-old
- Allison Johnson was ordered to be taken to a hospital
e because “of a possible danger to (her) health.” The or-
- der, which was first reported on by The Oklahoman,
- says Johnson will be returned to the Cleveland County
l jail in Norman when she’s released.
e Sheriff ’s spokeswoman Joy Hampton said Wednes-
- day that federal privacy laws prevented her from saying
- whether Johnson had been returned to jail.
- —The Associated Press
n

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 Clip
Aug 2019 Page resized
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The Marlow Review

KVUH[PVUZVMSH\UKY`KL[LYNLU[HUK[V^LSZ[VNL[HÄYZ[NSPTWZLVM[OL 4HYSV^/PNO:JOVVS[LHT

EPIC Charter Schools receives NCAA eligibility approval

OKLAHOMA CITY – EPIC Charter
6FKRROV6XSHULQWHQGHQW%DUW%DQ¿HOGDQ-
nounced that EPIC’s Rose State College
charter (sponsoring the school system’s
operations in Tulsa and Oklahoma coun-
ties) has been granted approval by the
National Collegiate Athletics Associa-
tion (NCAA). EPIC’s One-on-One char-
ter (authorized by the Statewide Virtual
Charter Schools Board for students state-
wide) received NCAA approval several
years ago.
NCAA approval means that EPIC meets
the high curricular and instructional delivery
standards required for NCAA participation
for those students on track to receive athletic
VFKRODUVKLSV%DQ¿HOGVDLG
“This approval is good news for EPIC stu-
dents being served under our blended charter
who have high athletic aspirations and strive
to meet the rigorous learning requirements
that go along with the NCAA program,” he
VDLG DGGLQJ WKDW D VSHFL¿F VHW RI FXUULFXOD
must be approved by the NCAA before ap-
proval is granted.
Per NCAA guidelines, not all high
school classes count as NCAA core cours-
es. Only classes in English, math (Algebra
1 or higher), natural or physical science,
social science, foreign language, com-
parative religion or philosophy may be
approved as NCAA core courses. Reme-
dial classes and classes completed through
credit-by-exam are not considered NCAA
core courses.
“Being able to offer this path of excel-
lence to every EPIC student with the ability
and drive to pursue such a rigorous and goal-
RULHQWHGFRXUVHLVDQKRQRU´%DQ¿HOGVDLG

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 The Norman Transcript

Aug
22

2019

Page
A006
Clip
resized
68%

AP Photo / Sue Ogrocki

This July 19 photo shows An Epic Charter Schools office in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma
investigators wrote in a court affidavit that Epic Charter Schools co-founders Ben Harris and
David Chaney recruited “ghost students” who received little or no instruction.

Investigators raid online Oklahoma charter school’s vendor

OKLAHOMA CITY — State
investigators have raided a
vendor for an online Oklahoma
charter school whose enroll-
ment, funding and some of its
leaders are at the center of an
investigation.
Agents from the Oklahoma
State Bureau of Investigation
searched the home of a man
who runs a nonprofit that works
with Epic Charter Schools to
provide coaching services for
sports.
The search warrant affidavit
filed Wednesday raises new
allegations of embezzlement,
forgery and other violations
against Epic co-founder and
former superintendent David
Chaney, chief financial officer
Josh Brock, and two present
and two former board mem-
bers.
No charges have been filed,
and Epic and its leadership have
denied any wrongdoing. Epic
attorney Chuck Richardson said
the school and its officials will
continue to cooperate with in-
vestigators. The State Bureau of
Investigation declined comment.
— AP

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.