June 2012
Oakland school accused of abuse is overbilling taxpayers, records show
A West Oakland church school that makes its students ask for money at BART stations appears to have vastly inflated its enrollment numbers to collect extra taxpayer funding, some of which goes to a teacher who former students say physically abused them and other children.
And for years, St. Andrew Missionary Baptist Church and private school has operated with virtually no government oversight despite repeated red flags. The K-12 school is run by Robert Lacy, 79, a pastor who pleaded guilty in 2007 to theft of government money for taking his deceased father’s Social Security payments.
Documents and interviews show St. Andrew has inflated its enrollment numbers, allowing school officials to reap tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding
The church’s university advertises a cornucopia of degrees but does not have authorization to operate from the Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education, said Russ Heimerich, spokesman for the state Department of Consumer Affairs. After learning about the university from California Watch, the bureau is investigating whether it is violating the law, he said.
The Lacy family has a history of benefits fraud, records show. The elder Lacy pleaded guilty in 2007 to a misdemeanor for taking $17,000 in Social Security payments sent to his father, who had died. The pastor also received $22,000 in other government assistance for which he was ineligible, according to the proposed plea agreement.
Andrew Lacy, the pastor’s 37-year-old son who helps with the school and soliciting, pleaded guilty to felony welfare fraud in 2004, according to court records. County authorities found that he made false statements and withheld information about his income to receive $13,500 in benefits.
Then, in 2007, the state Employment Development Department obtained a $3,000 judgment against him for receiving excess benefits due to fraud or misrepresentation.
http://californiawatch.org/k-12/oakland-school-accused-abuse-overbilling-taxpayers-records-show-16428
