‘Elaborate scheme’ conviction upheld for CEO of computer firm that swindled Bibb schools
An appeal by Isaac J. Culver III, convicted in fall 2018 of defrauding Bibb County public schools in a $3.7-million computing deal orchestrated by his company in 2012, was denied Thursday by a federal appeals court.
In November 2018, Culver, the president and CEO of Macon-based Progressive Consulting Technologies, was sentenced to seven years and three months behind bars, after being found guilty of an array of fraud charges.
The charges included conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and another count of conspiracy to launder money.
In his appeal, Culver argued that there was insufficient evidence to support that he and his company conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, claiming the government in its case failed to show any intentional scheme to defraud.
His appeal also claimed there was not enough evidence to support a conviction for money-laundering conspiracy because the government failed to prove concealment. Culver, 50, further argued that a sentencing enhancement that escalated his crimes was calculated in error.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, however, sided with the trial court and denied each of Culver’s claims.
The same court that turned down Culver’s appeal similarly last week denied the appeal of Culver’s business partner.
That partner, Dave L. Carty, is serving a 50-month prison term for his conviction on a single count of wire fraud in connection with the computer deal.
The case against Culver and Carty centered on a scheme to hide Progressive Consulting’s hand in a computing-device sale to Bibb schools eight years ago during the tumultuous tenure of superintendent Romain Dallemand.
Progressive had won a contract to install computers in the county’s public schools, but it was not authorized to sell devices to the school system.
Prosecutors’ case against the two men and their company involved invoices doctored to make it appear that an Ohio firm had been the seller in the $3.7-million deal. But Progressive had been the vendor all along and had paid $1.7 million to acquire the devices.
In its ruling, the appeals court noted “there was sufficient evidence here to support Culver’s and Progressive’s conspiracy and substantive wire and mail fraud convictions. Progressive, through its agents, ‘constructed an elaborate scheme that allowed them to reap inflated profits’ and left the School District ‘with almost nothing for its $3,768,000 investment.’”
Culver, who isn’t expected to be released from prison until early 2025, is serving his sentence at a medium-security prison in Talladega, Alabama.
Carty, 51, who is serving his sentence at a low-security lockup near Durham, North Carolina, likely won’t be freed until early 2023.
Telegraph archives contributed to this report.