Marcus May, the founder of Newpoint Education Partners that operated charter schools in Escambia County and six other Florida counties, was found guilty yesterday of steering millions of education dollars and other school funds to his personal accounts.
In the spring of 2015, Inweekly broke the story of alleged grade tampering and misuse of school funds at Newpoint’s middle and high schools located on Highway 29. The story grew to include 15 schools in Bay, Hillsborough, Pinellas and other counties in the state. Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar took the case and was able to show a pattern of kickbacks and fraudulent billing that was statewide.
The Escambia County jury found May guilty of one count of organized fraud and two counts of racketeering. He faces up to 90 years in prison.