Beaumont School Workers Guilty in Fraudulent Pay Scheme

BEAUMONT, Texas — Three former employees of the Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) have been hit with guilty pleas in a massive fraud scheme involving over $284,000 in federal funds. Daryl Glenn Johnson, 44, once BISD’s warehouse supervisor, alongside his wife Erin Gipson Johnson, 38, and friend Kailyn DeShondra Pete, 25, all of Beaumont, have each admitted to their roles in the fraudulent scheme.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), from July 2009 through June 2012, Daryl Johnson manipulated BISD’s payroll by adding his wife and a friend as ‘temporary’ warehouse employees. Despite neither having ever worked for the district, Johnson fraudulently verified their hours, including substantial overtime pay, which he knew they never actually earned.

Erin Johnson, who was paid $193,998.37 between July 2009 and May 2011, and Kailyn Pete, who received $90,041.05 from June 2010 to May 2012, are now facing up to five years in federal prison. Sentencing is yet to be scheduled.

The trio were indicted by a federal grand jury on August 6, 2014, and their convictions follow an investigation led by the joint Task Force involving the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, the Beaumont Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joe Batte and Christopher T. Tortorice are prosecuting the case.

This high-profile corruption case underscores the ongoing efforts to combat fraud within public institutions. The DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs emphasizes that such crimes will not be tolerated, and those found guilty will face substantial penalties.