Indictment: Businessmen defrauded Bibb schools with computer buys

Federal grand jurors indicted two Bibb County men and their business on fraud charges in their sale of technology to the Bibb County school district.

Isaac Culver, 47, of Lizella, Dave Carty, 48, of Macon and Progressive Consulting Technologies Inc. are charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and conspiracy to launder the proceeds of unlawful activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The charges stem from the sale of 15,000 NComputing devices to the Bibb County school district in 2012. The devices — virtual computer desktops — are still sitting in a warehouse five years later, and there are no plans for them at this time, said Stephanie Hartley, the school district’s communications director.

The 21-page indictment contains many of the same allegations included in a lawsuit that the school system filed late last year as well as from a 2014 state investigation.

If convicted, Culver and Carty face 20 years in prison on each charge and a possible multimillion-dollar fine.

Culver and Carty were arrested Wednesday morning. They pleaded not guilty during a Wednesday afternoon hearing before U.S. Magistrate Charles Weigle.

Their attorney, Leonard R. Medley III, of Atlanta, asked that they be released on their own recognizance, but Weigle set a $15,000 bond for each man, citing the serious nature of the charges. They must turn in their passports, and any travel must be approved beforehand.

Their indictment, returned Tuesday, was unsealed Wednesday.

The indictment alleges that Culver, Carty and Progressive used a third party as a “pass through” for millions in wire and mail transfers to disguise that the school system was buying the devices from them. The indictment also contends that they marked up the prices of the NComputing devices, as well as support services and installation. And even after the devices were delivered, the indictment says, they did not have the key components necessary to make them functional, such as monitors and keyboards.

Culver and Progressive Consulting Technologies Inc. are defendants in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the Bibb County school system in December alleging that Culver, former school Superintendent Romain Dallemand and others participated in a series of fraudulent acts, racketeering, wire fraud and mail fraud in a scheme to sell the school district unneeded or nonexistent services and products.

“The Bibb County school board feels a very strong obligation to protect the funds of the taxpayers, meant for the benefit of the students of Bibb County,” said attorney Tom Joyce of the Jones Cork law firm, which is helping represent the school district in the civil case. “We look forward to proving the allegations of the amended complaint at the appropriate time and are confident that we will.”

Culver was asked about the case outside the federal courthouse Wednesday but refused to comment.

Culver is board chairman of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce this year. In December, chamber executives said Culver’s being named in a lawsuit with Dallemand did not affect their selection of him as the 2017 chairman.

Carty was a member of the board of directors for the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, but resigned Wednesday, foundation President Kathryn Dennis told The Telegraph in an email.

The school system’s lawsuit said Dallemand demanded that the school system’s chief financial officer make two wire transfers of public funds totaling more than $7 million for purchases without school board approval — and against district policy. The school board said in the suit that Dallemand made an agreement with Progressive Consulting for technical management services at significantly higher rates than what the school board had approved.

Progressive received two payments of $500,000 each, eight days apart, from the school district to go toward improving technology in the school system, but according to the suit, the school did not see a significant improvement in technology. The second $500,000 was paid to Progressive with Dallemand’s approval, but without soliciting bids or getting school board approval, the suit said.

Culver’s relationship with Dallemand was known before his appointment as board chairman, chamber President/CEO Mike Dyer said in December, and it didn’t cause an issue.

“Certainly from our board perspective or the executive committee’s perspective civil suits happen quite a bit, and people are innocent until proven guilty,” he said.

On Wednesday, Dyer said: “We are aware of the situation and will be conferring with chamber board leadership throughout the day to ensure they are aware of the situation and to evaluate this situation as it affects the chamber. We’ll be releasing a statement” Thursday.

Dyer said Culver had called him at the time to be sure that Dyer was aware of the suit.

“He wanted me to be aware that he hadn’t anticipated that there would be as much information in there as there was and specifically naming him,” Dyer said. “He said ... he was sorry that it bought attention to the chamber, but that he was innocent and he was going to be fighting it in the courts.”

Culver, responding to a request for comment at the time, left a phone message about the lawsuit: “When I do (get it) I’ll give it to my attorney and find out what I’m able to talk to you about,” he said. “There is a lot for me to say, and I need to say some things.”

Culver is listed as president of Progressive Consulting and Carty is listed as the company’s chief financial officer and secretary on the Georgia secretary of state’s website.

Progressive Consulting was founded in 1990, and the company’s first contract was with the Bibb County Board of Education, according to a Telegraph interview in 2013.

Initially, the company focused on online software and after about six years, it focused on application development, Culver said at the time. The company has created software that the Air Force used at its three logistic centers. In 2013, the company had 30 employees and about 10 contractors across the country.

This story was originally published June 14, 2017 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Indictment: Businessmen defrauded Bibb schools with computer buys."