Crime & Law
Former Aurora School Board President Charged With Fraud in $1.3M Kickback Scheme
The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)
The former president of a west suburban school board has been accused of a massive fraud scheme after she allegedly accepted a $1.3 million kickback in exchange for influencing board votes on a contract to purchase air purifiers.
Annette Johnson, a current member and former president of the East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education, is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly orchestrating the bribery scheme.
According to a 14-page indictment, the charges stem from Johnson’s alleged efforts to steer the district toward a $2.7 million contract to purchase wearable air purifiers in September 2021.
Prosecutors allege Johnson accepted a $1.3 million payment from a reseller in exchange for using her power as board president to benefit that company by pushing her colleagues to sign off on the $2.7 million contract.
Johnson allegedly arranged meetings for the company with district officials and was given bullet points about the air purifiers to use as she sought to influence her fellow board members.
The indictment states Johnson spoke in favor of the purifiers and voted to approve the contract during the board’s September 2021 meeting, while never disclosing that she had a “personal and economic interest in the sale.”
That contact was approved and, two months later, the school cut a $2.7 million check to the company using federal COVID-19 relief funding to cover the cost, the indictment states.
Days later, Johnson received the $1.3 million payment, labeled as a “commission,” according to the indictment.
Johnson later allegedly pushed for the approval of a $201,077 payment to the air purifier company in 2023 relating to an “extended warranty” for the purifiers, the indictment states.
East Aurora School District 131 officials on Wednesday said they were aware of the indictment and the “serious allegations” contained within it.
“While the allegations made against Ms. Johnson are incredibly serious and concerning, Ms. Johnson, like all other defendants, is entitled to a presumption of innocence,” district Supt. Robert Halverson and the board said in a statement, while adding that the indictment does not name any other board member or district employee as a defendant. “Our teachers, administrators and staff remain focused on educating, supporting and serving our students each day.”
