Almost 8 years of fraud in RICO case

All 13 of the defendants face RICO charges for crimes that allegedly occurred between July of 2007 and March of 2015.

The new 307-count indictment against 13 individuals accused of conspiring to defraud Floyd County Schools alleges the conspirators misused more than $6.33 million in system funds. Two others originally indicted in the case — William Greg McCary and Robert Mitchell Anderson — are deceased.

The new indictment includes four counts of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, 300 counts of theft by taking, two counts of bribery and one count of theft by receiving stolen property.

Derry Scott Richardson, the alleged ringleader of the conspiracy, is named as a defendant in all but two counts of the indictment. He is accused of conspiring with other school system employees — individuals who were employed by construction and maintenance contractors and members of his own family — in taking $6,331,135 in funds intended for the benefit of the students of Floyd County Schools.

All 13 of the defendants, including Harry Anthony Bailey, Russell David Burkhalter, David Gary English, Rodney Don Holder, Dwayne Lee Richardson, Jimmy Baigey Richardson, Lisa Michelle Richardson, Charles Raiden Sherman, Samuel Max Tucker, Robert Chad Watson, Samuel Sprewell and James David Fielder, face the RICO charges for the crimes that allegedly started around July 16, 2007, and continued through March 13, 2015.

The indictment claims that Derry Richardson was employed by Johnson Controls Incorporated when the scheme originated. He ultimately sought employment with the Board of Education and the indictment claims he eventually was able to manipulate other local contractors to join in the scheme.

The scheme involved, in part, the submission of invoices for projects that never existed while others came with prices that were grossly inflated. The indictment alleges that after the invoices were paid, the sub-contractors would keep a share of the funds and then funnel back money to Derry Richardson or his wife, Lisa Michelle Richardson, by means of gifts, credit card payments, cash payments or funds that were laundered through a variety of bank accounts.

Derry Richardson was charged in conjunction with hundreds of counts of theft by taking in association with several of the other defendants. He and Samuel Max Tucker were indicted on 92 counts of theft by taking for fraudulent acts that involved purchases up to a high of $23,800.

Richardson and Rodney Don Holder face 82 counts of theft by taking for allegedly fraudulent contracts — most of it involving CCTV equipment. The purchases included one for $360,00, another for $166,887 and more than six other purchases in excess of $90,000.

Richardson and Harry Anthony Bailey are charged with 68 counts of the theft by taking, the largest single incident involving a purchase of electronics valued at $9,643.90. Richardson and Russell David

The next step in the case is expected to involve a new round of arraignments and pleadings from the defendants.

Burkhalter are charged with 34 counts of theft by taking involving a whole series of $3,500 payments.

The acts of racketeering activity in the indictment list 49 different incidents of money laundering by Dwayne Lee Richardson between September 2010 and March 2015.

Jimmy Baigey Richardson is alleged to have been involved in 16 different acts of money laundering between February 2012 and May 2014.

Lisa Michelle Richardson is accused of committing 115 acts of theft by receiving stolen property between May 2013 and December 2014. Transactions ranged from a $1.28 Redbox DVD rental in November 2014 to the largest illegal acquisition which involved $4,300 for a zebra hide and leather wing back chair, allegedly purchased with illegal proceeds from the scheme in August 2014.

Derry Richardson and Samuel Sprewell were both indicted on bribery charges that are alleged to have involved gifts from Richardson to Sprewell ranging from a shotgun to plane tickets and golf outings with the belief that the gifts would influence Sprewell to approve certain fraudulent invoices in his role as the Floyd County School Chief of Operations between Dec. 1, 2013, and Oct. 16, 2014.

The next step in the case is expected to involve a new round of arraignments and pleadings from the defendants.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Court of Appeals is expected to hear oral arguments in April related to the dismissal of two previous indictments in the case.