Josette Buendia, Bribery and Kickbacks, MI 2024

DETROIT – Josette Buendia, 51, of Garden City, Michigan, a former Detroit Public Schools principal, is facing up to five years in federal prison after being convicted today of accepting bribes and kickbacks totaling approximately $46,000. The verdict follows a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh.

Buendia, who served as principal at Bennett Elementary School, conspired with Norman Shy, 75, owner of Allstate Sales, a school supply vendor. Between November 2011 and January 2015, Buendia knowingly approved and submitted fraudulent invoices to Detroit Public Schools. These invoices detailed materials – including supplemental teaching materials and raised line paper – that were either never delivered to the school or were only partially fulfilled. Shy then used a portion of the illicit payments from DPS to bribe Buendia.

The scheme involved Shy paying Buendia in the form of gift cards and cash, a direct exchange for her willingness to sign off on the inflated and false invoices. U.S. Attorney Barbara L. McQuade minced no words, stating, “This principal accepted bribes in exchange for shortchanging the school district. Regardless of what she did with the money, Detroit Public Schools and the students paid the price.”

Federal investigators from the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation uncovered the scheme, painstakingly documenting the fraudulent invoices and tracing the flow of money. David P. Gelios, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, emphasized the agency’s commitment to rooting out public corruption: “Today’s verdict reinforces the message we want everyone to understand… Anyone who attempts to enrich oneself at the expense of school children will be prosecuted.”

The case underscores a disturbing pattern of corruption within the Detroit Public School system. Manny Muriel, Special Agent in Charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation, added, “Josette Buendia’s actions violated the trust and confidence of the parents and students of Bennett Elementary School… the community expects their hard earned tax dollars to be used to educate our children and not to line the pockets of school officials.”

Buendia is scheduled to be sentenced on April 6, 2017, at 2:30 pm. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys J. Michael Buckley and Frances Carlson. The investigation was a collaborative effort of the FBI Detroit Area Corruption Task Force (DACTF), comprised of multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to combating public corruption in the region.