MIAMI – Two Miami-Dade County public school employees have been arrested on accusations that they sold GED certificates to people willing to pay up to nearly $3,000 from test brokers and/or test applicants in exchange for the certificate, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
The people arrested in the joint investigation by the State Attorney's Office and the Office of the Inspector General for Miami-Dade County Public Schools include Roxanne Insignares, a former test chair at Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College; Antonio Bouzan, a secretary/treasurer at Orchard Villa Elementary School and former registrar at Miami Lakes Educational Center and Technical College; and Marta Avalos, who was a test broker, prosecutors said.
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All suspects face charges of organized scheme to defraud and cheating. Insignares faces additional charges of official misconduct and unlawful compensation/reward for official behavior. Bouzan also faces a charge of unlawful compensation/reward for official behavior.
"The alleged brokering and sale of GED certificates by an organized criminal circle, two of whom were employees of the MDCPS, is a blatant betrayal of trust," State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "Those in charge of making sure that educational standards are met to award GED certificates are entrusted with making sure that those receiving certificates have passed the required examination of educational foundation. To cheat the system and put money in their pockets unlawfully while performing their official duties is not only illegal, but has the potential to put our entire community at risk."
Prosecutors said the scheme, which involved people who did not take or did not pass the GED test, was discovered during an unrelated investigation.
According to prosecutors, between 2012 and 2016, Insignares, who was in charge of GED testing at her school, and Bouzan received cash payments ranging from $150 to $2,800 each in exchange for a GED certificate.
Insignares is accused of falsifying records and submitting fraudulent information to the Department of Education and MDCPS.
Prosecutors said they interviewed 19 GED certificate recipients, and 18 of them admitted to having paid cash for their certificate.
The individuals claimed the suspects required the individuals' personal information, including date of birth, Social Security number, a copy of their driver's license and photos of them wearing different clothing.
"According to the GED Testing Service, 95 percent of colleges and universities accept a GED diploma for admissions, and the U.S. Census Bureau reports that high school graduates and GED diploma recipients earn higher wages than high school dropouts," Mary Cagle, the Inspector General for Miami-Dade County, said in a statement. "These defendants, motivated by sheer greed, corrupted and tarnished a process that provides a powerful option for people who have not obtained a high school diploma. The Miami-Dade County Public Schools Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will continue its investigative efforts, in conjunction with the State Attorney's Office, to ferret out criminal activity in regard to not only GED, but other testing services administered by Miami-Dade Schools. The OIG will work with the school administration to implement safeguards to prevent this from happening again."
According to a MDCPS spokeswoman, Insignares has worked for the school district since 1991 and Bouzan has worked for the district since 1987. She said neither employee had any issues with the schools prior to their arrest.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools takes these allegations of fraud and professional misconduct seriously," an MDCPS statement read. "The school district will take any and all legal action against individuals who seek to compromise the value of a legitimate education and profit from fraudulent activity. The work of the investigative agencies involved in this case has been remarkable, and, as a school district, we have initiated the necessary action to terminate the employment of these individuals."