NY charter school founder cheated state out of $70,000. Failed to pay taxes 2005-2010 [View all]

[madfloridian]

He made $1.4 million dollars, much of which was public taxpayer money. He did not pay taxes he owed.

A sticky-fingered founder of three Brooklyn charter schools pleaded guilty Friday to cheating the state out of taxes for six years, while pulling in a half-million dollar salary.

Eddie Calderon-Melendez admitted to bringing in some $1.4 million in compensation, but skipping on filing tax returns between 2005 and 2010, which would have amounted to $70,000.

"While earning a six-figure salary funded largely by taxpayer dollars, the defendant robbed the state of New York," said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman whose office handled the case.

Calderon-Melendez will have to repay over $200,000, which include penalties and interest and faces 5 years probation plus 200 hours of community service when he's sentenced next month.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/charter-school-founder-admits-tax-cheat-article-1.1238458

He was charged in April by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman.

A.G. Schneiderman Secures Indictment Of Former Brooklyn Charter School Network Founder And CEO

NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced his office has secured an 11-count indictment of Eddie Calderon-Melendez, the founder and former CEO of the beleaguered Williamsburg Charter High School and Believe High Schools Network, a charter management organization. According to the Attorney General's indictment, Calderon-Melendez received over $1.4 million in compensation from 2005 to 2010, yet he never filed a tax return and failed to pay over $70,000 in taxes.

Nearly all of Calderon-Melendez’s compensation during that period came, directly or indirectly, from taxpayer-funded charter schools. Mr. Calderon-Melendez then attempted to cover up his tax crimes by creating and submitting false New York tax returns to the Office of the Attorney General.

“While earning a six-figure salary funded largely by taxpayer dollars, the defendant robbed the state of New York of much-needed revenue when he failed to pay his taxes for six years in a row. He then compounded his crime by creating false evidence to throw investigators off his trail,” Attorney General Schneiderman said. “The charges announced today send a strong message that tax cheats and those who tamper with investigations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Calderon-Melendez was known for moving charters into public schools and taking over their space for the charters.

NY public school students get limited use of school library so 3 charter schools can use it.

"It's unfair," said JHS 126 parent association President Janeen Echevarria. "Kids need to get in there to get books out to do their reports, to read, to further their education."

Access to the library for more than 400 middle schoolers will be restricted to one side of the space for less than two hours each day, with an extra hour on Wednesdays. Eddie Calderon-Melendez, founder of the Believe High School Network, which runs the charters, said the use of shared space is negotiated every year.

"We figure out what's in the best interest of all the children in the building," Calderon-Melendez said.

While he was shoving public school students around, he was taking public money and failing to pay taxes on it.

It is good to see an attorney general go after some of this fraud against public schools. More states need to do so.

I have trouble understanding why people are not concerned about the harm being done to public education as money is given to "reformers", thus depriving the schools of their due.