Crime

Attorney General Sues Parents

THE AFRO — Sixteen families in the D.M.V. are being sued by the District of Columbia, who seeks more than $2.9 million from parents it says falsified residency records to enroll their children in public schools for free. A few of those parents are also accused of residency fraud to receive public assistance.

Published

6 years ago

September 27, 2019

Oakland Post

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine is suing families who have falsified residency records in order to send their children to D.C. public schools for free and receive public assistance. (Courtesy Photo)

By Mark F. Gray

Sixteen families in the D.M.V. are being sued by the District of Columbia, who seeks more than $2.9 million from parents it says falsified residency records to enroll their children in public schools for free. A few of those parents are also accused of residency fraud to receive public assistance.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced on Sept. 5 that the city is seeking more than $2.9 million from parents who are the latest to be charged in the ongoing investigation. The case into residency fraud includes allegations against five current or former government workers including District of Columbia Police Officer Edward Smith.

District residents are allowed to enroll their children in city public schools for free. On the other hand, those who live outside of the District must pay at least $10k a year in tuition to enroll their children in DCPS schools. D.C. law allows authorities to seek triple the amount owed in unpaid tuition if found guilty of fraud.

This is the second time this year that Attorney General Racine’s office filed more than half a dozen cases before the court. In March, the D.C. Attorney General’s Office filed lawsuits against seven people for falsely claiming residency in the District only to send their children to D.C. public schools for free. In those lawsuits, the city sought more than $700k in unpaid tuition and penalties.

“Residency fraud not only cheats our taxpayers, but it also hurts District children who play by the rules, and frequently rely on the school lottery process to attend the schools of their choice,” Mr. Racine said in a statement at that time. “Our office will continue to bring actions against any individuals who try to fraudulently take advantage of free schooling for District students.”

Racine said his office is committed to aggressively pursuing those who abused D.C.’s policies. The parents named in the most recent lawsuits either lived in Maryland or Virginia while their child attended District schools. They are accused of enrolling their children as District residents and sending their children to District schools while neglecting to pay out-of-state tuition.

In three cases, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that parents lied about being D.C. residents in order to receive Medicaid, SNAP, and TANF benefits. Defendants allegedly made statements claiming they lived at addresses in the District.

These parents who sent their children to D.C. schools were required to submit enrollment forms and residency verification forms for each of their children. Allegedly, the parents in question illegally used District addresses that belonged to other individuals on the official forms, then signed sworn statements stating they lived in the District.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

4 days ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.