Last updated Oct. 9 at 11:16 p.m.

Former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton was federally indicted Wednesday, the district announced in a message to families on Thursday.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois filed charges against Horton for alleged actions while serving as District 65’s superintendent, Board President Sergio Hernandez and Board Vice President Nichole Pinkard wrote in the message. 

Horton is the current superintendent of DeKalb County School District in Georgia, a position he began in 2023. He was the superintendent of District 65 from 2020 to 2023.

The 17-count indictment alleges Horton committed embezzlement, wire fraud and tax fraud in several events between Jan. 1, 2022 and Aug. 29, 2024.

Thirteen of the counts also include three men described as Horton’s friends. The charges state the four men owned companies that took funds from District 65 and Chicago Public Schools under fake service contracts and did not declare the personal financial stake Horton had in the contracts. It further alleges the men sent Horton kickbacks from their fraudulent earnings.

Antonio Ross, a former principal of Hyde Park Academy High School in Chicago, owned Connecting the Dots Leadership Initiative, LLC.

Ten days into Horton’s tenure in DeKalb, Atlanta-area media outlet Decaturish reported Ross was one of five central office staffers the school board approved for hiring. Four of the five staff members had ties to Horton, Decaturish reported. Ross eventually declined the position, citing “personal reasons,” according to a district spokesperson.

Alfonzo Lewis, Hyde Park Academy’s athletic director, owned New Flight 35 Sports & Academic Academy. Samuel Ross owns Asset Protection Specialist, the only company named in the case that is still active.

Horton owned Altering the Education Xpectation, LLC, which Antonio Ross selected for a contract at Hyde Park Academy and paid Horton with Chicago Public Schools funds, according to the indictment. The charging document also alleges Horton entered the $10,000 contract without notifying the District 65 board. 

The U.S. attorney is seeking approximately $293,500 in forfeitures from the four men, matching the sum of the four contracts. All 13 charges pertaining to the four men carry the potential of severe criminal penalties, including fines and prison time. 

Horton could owe at least an additional $30,845 for two counts alleging he embezzled District 65 funds for personal use from Jan. 1, 2022 to July 6, 2023, including the purchases of personal meals and gift cards. He was also indicted on two counts of tax evasion in 2022 and 2023 after underreporting his income and falsely representing his sources of income.

The tax evasion charges could result in up to a $100,000 fine and five years of prison time for each count.

In an emailed statement to The Daily, Terence Campbell, Horton’s lawyer, praised Horton’s tenure at District 65.

“In his prior position as Superintendent of Evanston District 65 schools, Dr. Horton tackled head-on a number of tough issues often under difficult circumstances, including having threats of violence made against him and his family during his tenure in Evanston,” Campbell wrote. “Dr. Horton is eager to address his case in court so he can return his focus to bettering the lives and education of children, which has been his passion throughout his professional career.” 

The DeKalb County Board of Education held an emergency meeting Thursday afternoon to discuss Horton’s indictment. 

In a statement on the district’s website, the board announced Horton will be on paid administrative leave effective immediately. The role of acting superintendent will be assumed by the district’s chief of student services, Norman Sauce III. 

For District 65 families, Hernandez and Pinkard wrote that they have been aware of the ongoing investigation. 

“We are deeply troubled and angered by these allegations,” Hernandez and Pinkard wrote to District 65 families. “Now that the federal government has formally indicted, the District is reviewing the specific details of the indictment with the District’s legal counsel.”

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— Angel Turner named District 65 Interim Superintendent 

— District 65 community says goodbye to Devon Horton, board discusses superintendent search