BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – The CEO of a Charter School named in a scathing audit, e-filed a lawsuit Friday against the State Attorney General and the State Legislative Auditor’s Office in an attempt to block the release of a legislative audit report that was made public Monday.
The lawsuit states Defendant Liz Murrill is sued because “Defendant Attorney General, through the powers of her office, has oversight of district attorneys and enforcement findings derived from LLA reports.”
The audit released Monday morning alleges Chekesha Scott, the CEO of Education Explosion, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that operates Impact Charter School in Baker used her position to divert $1.5 million to an account she controlled.
The WAFB I-TEAM learned that audit was turned over to state and federal prosecutors after the alleged fraud was uncovered.
Auditors found CEO Chakesha Scott diverted fees paid by parents totaling $221,506 to accounts not associated with the school. Auditors also alleged the CEO may have used funds for her personal residence including the installation of a swimming pool, lawncare and landscaping.
Scott’s lawsuit alleges the legislative auditor report does not follow the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) or Governmental Accounting Stands Board (GASB) guidelines rendering the findings unreliable.
“Despite providing detailed documentation to the LLA in the Plaintiff’s response to the preliminary findings, the LLA did not change their findings,” the lawsuit states.
“The publication of the LLA’s investigative report constitutes defamation per se by falsely alleging financial misconduct, fraud and self-enrichment by Dr. Scott despite clear documentary evidence to the contrary,” the lawsuit reads. “… By releasing to the public a report to the public that blatantly disregards documentary evidence that directly contradicted its findings, the LLA further demonstrates reckless disregard towards the plaintiff.”
The I-TEAM reached out to the legislative auditor for a comment on the lawsuit to block their findings from being released.
“As with all our work, the report was based on a thorough review of evidence, extensive fact-finding, and a commitment to transparency and accountability,” Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack said. “The legal proceedings initiated after its release do not alter the integrity of our process or the validity of our conclusions. While we respect the judicial process, we remain confident in the accuracy and objectivity of our findings.”
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