Former Evanston D65 Superintendent Devon Horton changes plea to guilty in federal kickback case
A little more than two weeks before former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton’s federal trial was set to begin over a kickback scheme he is accused of leading during his time at District 65, Horton changed his original plea of not guilty during a court appearance Monday.
Horton, who was indicted last year on 17 counts of embezzlement, wire fraud and tax evasion over his involvement in what prosecutors describe as an effort to misappropriate District 65 funds and award himself over $81,000 in kickbacks from approving the work contracts of three of his friends’ companies, pleaded guilty to three of those counts in federal court in Chicago Oct. 5.
Judge Thomas M. Durkin accepted Horton’s guilty plea to those three counts. The first concerned wire fraud, where Horton used telecommunications to intentionally defraud District 65 out of money, the second involved converting the district’s property to his personal use and the third dealt with failure to report ill-gotten gains on his income tax form.
Judge Durkin ordered a pre-sentence investigation to assist the court in reaching a decision as to Horton’s eventual punishment.
U.S. prosecuting Attorney Emily Vermylen informed the court Monday that Horton’s guilty plea on the three counts would reduce the length of his prison sentence. If the court deemed Horton had clearly demonstrated acceptance of responsibility for his crimes at the time of sentencing, the anticipated prison sentence would range from 87 to 108 months in prison, or about seven to nine years, she said.
