Jesse Marks, Mail Fraud, West Virginia 2025

BREAKING: West Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Boone County Schools of $3.4 Million

In a shocking turn of events, Jesse Marks, 65, of Rush, Kentucky, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, defrauding Boone County Schools of $3.4 million.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Marks was the sole owner and operator of Rush Enterprises when Michael David Barker, the maintenance director of Boone County Schools, contacted him in November 2019 about selling custodial and janitorial supplies to the school system.

Marks admitted that he and Barker entered into the overbilling scheme in November 2019, submitting invoices to Boone County Schools that significantly inflated the number of products delivered. The school system relied on the fraudulent invoices and mailed checks to Rush Enterprises using the United States Postal Service.

As part of the agreement with Barker, Marks deposited the checks from Boone County Schools into the business bank account for Rush Enterprises, wrote himself checks on that account that he cashed at various banks, and personally delivered some of that cash to Barker in manila envelopes.

Marks estimated that approximately 80 percent of the total payments received by Rush enterprises from Boone County Schools, or $3,448,571.85 out of $4,310,714.82, was for products never delivered.

Mark's sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2025, and he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price, and Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement, commending the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU).

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-6.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdwv/pr/kentucky-man-pleads-guilty-role-scheme-defraud-boone-county-schools-out-34-million