Erdogan has accused Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup against him in 2016.Īccording to the court filing here, Turkey “has initiated an investigation within its own borders to determine whether the proceeds derived from these illegal activities in the United States are being unlawfully transported and transmitted to individuals in Turkey in violation of Turkish criminal law, including international money laundering and fraud.”Ĭhristopher Hotaling, a Chicago lawyer representing Turkey in the case, declined to comment Thursday.Īttorneys for Concept and its schools have sought to block the Turkish government’s legal efforts here. But the two men have become bitter enemies, with Erdogan pressing the U.S. Gulen once was a staunch supporter of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “were created to siphon public, taxpayer funds away from the education of children in order to finance the international political activities of Fethullah Gulen, an exiled Turkish cleric residing in the State of Pennsylvania.”
Turkey says Concept and other charter school networks across the U.S. In a civil case in federal court in Chicago in August, the Turkish government sought information about Concept and a long list of “r elevant individuals and entities. A spokesman for Concept said the money to pay the feds would come from the organization’s “savings.” Allegations from “foreign actors” in TurkeyĬoncept officials also said they had been the subject of unfair allegations of wrongdoing from “foreign actors.” Although the statement from the charter operator did not specify what foreign critics they were referring to, the charter chain run by Turkish immigrants has faced criticism from the government of their homeland for several years. Officials said the charter school operator is in good financial shape and can pay the fine without additional assistance from its schools. They pointed out that in its press release on the settlement, the Justice Department said the “claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.”Ĭoncept officials also sought to blame their E-rate consultants for what they characterized as being “not compliant with certain aspects of the application process.” In announcing the settlement, the Justice Department accused Concept of giving its E-rate business to “chosen vendors without a meaningful, fair and open bidding process” and alleged the charter operator paid those vendors “higher prices than those approved by the for equipment with the same functionality.”Īnd some of the equipment the federal government paid Concept for was “discovered missing,” the Justice Department said.īut in a statement last week, Concept officials sought to portray the settlement as an exoneration, because the probe did not result in criminal charges. The federal corruption probe came into public view in June 2014, when agents raided Concept’s headquarters at the time in Des Plaines and the Chicago Math and Science Academy, in the Rogers Park neighborhood.Ĭourt records show authorities launched the raids because they suspected a long-running “scheme to defraud a federal program.” The feds said at the time that Concept funneled about $5 million in federal grant funds to insiders and “away from the charter schools,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Tax dollars to insiders - and “away from the charter schools” They also said they are asking the school district’s inspector general to look into the situation, even though there was no allegation that district resources were misused. The four schools in Chicago, in turn, pay a total of $3.8 million a year to Concept in management fees, records show.Ĭoncept’s charter network runs four campuses in the city: Chicago Math and Science Academy, Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago, Horizon Science Academy Belmont and Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park.Ĭhicago Public Schools officials said the charter school operator cannot use money it provided for the education of students to pay the settlement. The two other Concept-run schools in Chicago are regulated by the state, which is giving them another $22 million for the current year.
Chicago Public Schools officials - who approved and oversee two Concept campuses in the city - are set to provide about $17 million for those schools this year.
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