Former HISD official accused in cash kickback scheme
HOUSTON — Federal prosecutors are accusing a former high-ranking Houston ISD official of taking kickbacks from a district contractor, according to a newly filed court document n the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The civil forfeiture complaint sheds light on why federal agents were at the Cypress home of HISD’s Chief Operating Officer in late February. They seized $90,150 from Brian Busby’s home, alleging that the school district COO conspired with an unnamed district landscaping contractor to approve proposals submitted by the contractor and to pay that business for work that it did not perform.
Federal prosecutors also allege that, at times, HISD employees performed some of the work, often at overtime rates.
So far, nobody has been charged with a crime, but “in order to share the criminal proceeds the Contractor obtained from the fraud, the Contractor paid kickbacks to C.O.O. Busby, including cash kickbacks,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson wrote in the court filing.
Read more: https://www.khou.com/article/news/investigations/hisd-coo-accused-of-taking-kickbacks-from-landscaper/285-36e4c9cf-8857-4ee7-ac85-4ed95768999b
