State Attorney Bill Eddins announced that on July 11, 2017, an Escambia County Grand Jury indicted Newpoint Education Partners, LLC; School Warehouse, Inc.; and Red Ignition, Inc., the same business entities previously charged in 2016, with additional, similar crimes allegedly committed in Escambia County and other Florida counties.
The indictments charge Newpoint Education Partners, LLC (“Newpointâ€), which formerly managed charter schools in Escambia, Bay, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Pinellas Counties; and School Warehouse and Red Ignition, which were vendors used by Newpoint, with thefts of hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds in connection with fraudulently billing charter schools for computers, furniture, equipment, and curriculum services and then laundering the proceeds of the thefts through multiple bank accounts to conceal the alleged crimes.
The latest indictments follow the announcement by the State Attorney that the State brought racketeering and organized fraud charges against Marcus May, the principal owner of Newpoint, and Steven Kunkemoeller, the principal owner of School Warehouse and Red Ignition, for the same alleged crimes.
The indictments resulted from a joint investigation by the Office of State Attorney and the School District of Escambia County.
Assistant State Attorney Russell Edgar, legal advisor to the Grand Jury, stated that the Office of State Attorney and the District will continue to investigate and prosecute these and related incidents. Anyone who has information regarding these matters may contact Mr. Edgar at the Office of State Attorney at (850) 595-4283.