ATLANTA (AP) — The superintendent of Georgia's third-largest school district has been indicted on federal charges alleging he ran a kickback scheme and stole money from his previous employer, a smaller school district in suburban Chicago.
A federal grand jury in Chicago on Wednesday indicted Devon Horton, currently superintendent of the 93,000-student DeKalb County school district, on 17 counts including wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. The indictment alleges the 48-year-old Horton issued more than $280,000 in contracts to three friends and received more than $80,000 in kickbacks from 2020 through 2023 while he was superintendent of the Evanston-Skokie school district. That district had 5,800 students in grades K-8 last year.
Indicted along with Horton were three other men who prosecutors allege were part of the scheme: Antonio Ross, 48, of Chicago; Samuel Ross, 46 of Berwyn, Illinois; and Alfonzo Lewis, 48, of Chicago.
A lawyer for Horton, Terry Campbell, said in a statement that Horton “is eager to address his case in court.” He added that the allegations “relate to conduct that is several years old and have nothing whatsoever to do with his very successful work on behalf of the students, families, and teachers in DeKalb County," citing improved attendance rates, graduation rates and academic achievement in the Georgia district.
Lawyers for Samuel Ross and Antonio Ross declined to comment. No lawyer was listed for Lewis in court records.
The DeKalb County school board held an emergency meeting Thursday and suspended Horton with pay, naming Chief of Student Services Norman Sauce as acting superintendent. Board Chairperson Deirdre Pierce said in a statement that operations will “continue as normal” and that the district remains "focused on providing a safe, supportive, and high-quality educational experience for every student.”
The DeKalb County board had extended Horton's contract to 2028 in July and raised his salary to $360,000 a year.
The indictment alleges that the four men created companies and billed for services they didn't provide in order to bilk money from the Evanston-Skokie and Chicago school districts. In addition to $283,500 from Evanston-Skokie, the indictment alleges that Antonio Ross, then principal of Hyde Park Academy High School in Chicago, issued a fraudulent contract to a Horton-controlled company that netted Horton $10,000.
Horton tried to hire Antonio Ross after Horton became superintendent in DeKalb County, but Ross declined the job amid questions about the business relationship between the two men. The DeKalb district hired at least four other people whom Horton previously worked with in Illinois or Louisville, Kentucky.
Horton also faces charges that he stole more than $30,000 from the Evanston-Skokie district in 2022 and 2023 by using his district purchasing card to buy personal meals and gift cards and to pay for personal vehicle and travel expenses. Horton is also charged with tax evasion over allegations that he didn't report the kickbacks and personal purchases on his income tax returns.
Because of the large amount of money allegedly stolen and that fact that Horton was a public official, he could face more than 10 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines if convicted. Prosecutors are also seeking to have all four men forfeit the money in question.
The leaders of the Evanston-Skokie school board, Sergio Hernandez and Nichole Pinkard, said in a statement that the district “has been aware of the ongoing investigation and has fully supported the process," keeping it secret at the request of federal authorities.
“We are deeply troubled and angered by these allegations,” they said.
DeKalb County school Superintendent Devon Horton speaks during a press conference at Lithonia High School in Lithonia, Ga., on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Donald Trump is set to meet Thursday at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by then-President Nicolás Maduro before the United States captured him in an audacious military raid this month.
Less than two weeks after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges, Trump will host the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, having already dismissed her credibility to run Venezuela and raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in the country.
“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump told Reuters in an interview about Machado. “I’ve seen her on television. I think we’re just going to talk basics.”
The meeting comes as Trump and his top advisers have signaled their willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and along with others in the deposed leader's inner circle remain in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.
Rodríguez herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move reportedly made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.
Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump told reporters. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”
In endorsing Rodríguez, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key advisers like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a political gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government. She also intends to have a meeting in the Senate on Thursday afternoon.
Despite her alliance with Republicans, Trump was quick to snub her following Maduro’s capture. Just hours afterward, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump coveted. She has since thanked Trump and offered to share the prize with him, a move that has been rejected by the Nobel Institute.
Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.
The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.
A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.
Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)
