The Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested former Broward County School Board Chief Information Officer Anthony Hunter this week following an indictment by the statewide grand jury.
Hunter is indicted for bypassing the bidding process for school equipment and steering business to a friend. State Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution served as legal advisors to the grand jury and will prosecute the case.
“I am proud of the work the statewide grand jury put into this case, as well as the efforts of my Statewide Prosecutors and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Let this be a lesson to anyone attempting to abuse the public trust; all public servants can and will be held accountable for their unlawful actions,” Moody said this week.
FDLE Miami Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge Troy Walker said, “This unconscionable breach of trust by a public servant hurt taxpayers and undermined the integrity of his position. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our agents and analysts and our federal and state partners on this case, this arrest and indictment shows that backdoor dealings by public servants will not be tolerated in Florida.”
According to a joint investigation by FDLE and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Investigation Services, from 2015 through the beginning of 2019, Hunter used his position as CIO of the BCSB to direct the purchase of thousands of Recordex interactive panels for Broward schools. Rather than allowing vendors to publicly bid on the job, Hunter intentionally bypassed the bidding process and steered the business to David Allen, a resident of Georgia. Hunter arranged for more than $17 million worth of sales, through Allen’s company, Education Consultants, Inc., also known as Edco.
During the time period that Edco received millions of dollars in business, Hunter and his family leased a large lake house from Allen. Allen ultimately sold the lake house to Hunter for approximately $150,000 below market value. While selling Recordex panels indirectly to the BCSB, Allen hired Brian Hunter, Anthony Hunter’s son, to work for Alertpoint, LLC, a separate business owned by Allen. Alertpoint ultimately hired Anthony Hunter as well. Additionally, Anthony Hunter utilized a Georgia car dealership to indirectly purchase two vehicles from Allen.
Anthony Hunter is charged with one count of unlawful compensation and one count of bid tampering, each second-degree felonies. Assistant Statewide Prosecutors Jonathan Bridges and Moses Aluicio will prosecute the case.
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