Founder of Harlem-born network of charter schools is going to prison – Gothamist

The founder of a Harlem-born network of nonprofit charter schools once lauded for his “compelling new vision” for public education is headed to prison – for stealing from the very schools he helped launch.Seth Andrew, 43, once honored as a “Hometown Hero” in education by the Daily News, was sentenced Thursday in a federal courtroom in Manhattan to 366 days in prison, plus three years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty in January to charges he defrauded the well-regarded Democracy Prep Public Schools (DPPS) network of more than $218,000.The sentencing marked the messy end of a public service career that won Andrew accolades as the leader of taxpayer-backed schools known for achieving high marks in high-poverty neighborhoods, starting with the “flagship” middle school in Harlem in 2006, and later reaching some 7,100 students in communities from Texas to New Jersey. He left DPPS in 2017.“Seth Andrew was sentenced today for stealing from those who once trusted him,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, of the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.In court papers, prosecutors detailed a complicated scheme aimed at supporting another education venture backed by Andrew – this one in Vermont. The theft proceeds, while under Andrew’s control,…
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