Ex Principal Steals $1.2 Million From School—Spends It On Strippers, ETC!!
We’ve heard of making it rain at the strip club, but with $1.2 million stolen from the schools where he worked, former principal Christopher Clemons was causing a torrential downpour!
With the embezzled money, Clemons blew $50,000 at strip clubs, paid off the $70,000 he owed on his two luxury cars, wired more than $100,000 to his personal bank account, and spent $20,000 to settle a personal judgment involving his ex-wife.
The 39-year-old big spender is now a disgrace to the charter school he founded, but just a few years ago he was heralded as the champion of Latin Academy, a middle school on the city’s west side where he served as principal.
But it didn’t take long for him to start dipping into the bank account, according to Fulton County deputy district attorney Brad Malkin, who works with Atlanta’s white-collar crime unit.
Malkin traced the start of the thefts back to 2011. Before he was caught skimming funds from Latin Academy, he also stole from two other charter schools, Latin Grammar School and Latin College Preparatory School.
That’s a lot of tuition—and the parents paying it had no idea that their hard-earned dollars were going directly to the local pole dancers! According to receipts uncovered, Clemons paid $12,000 for just one night of “entertainment.”
Clemons plead guilty, telling Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox, “I am deeply, thoroughly, overwhelmingly sorry. I am responsible for what has happened. I take responsibility for my actions, and I know that I allowed my own unchecked ego to lead me on a ludicrous adventure that led to absurd results that left a lot of people hurt.”
Malkin chimed in at sentencing: “The damage that Mr. Clemons did was enormous. He stole over and over again. Not only did it disrupt lives of children, but also their families. It caused good people to lose their jobs. It caused a school to lose its charter and embarrassed the Atlanta Public Schools system. And it was a totally selfish act at the expense of many innocent people.”
Clemons faced a maximum of 865 years in prison and a fine of $5.5 million, but Judge Cox gave him a 20-year sentence and ordered him to pay restitution of $810,000. Clemons is to serve 10 years in prison, with credit for the 21 months he’s been in jail awaiting the conclusion of his cases, and 10 years on probation. Also, Clemons is banned from consulting with any school district, operating any nonprofit businesses, and working with children.
What you think? Is the punishment good enough, or should this crooked educator be taught a harsher lesson? Tell us!
