DETROIT – The former Detroit Public Schools program director of Priority: My Education, a supplemental educational service provider, was sentenced Friday to 37 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to federal program fraud, Acting United States Attorney Daniel Lemisch announced.
Theodore Thomas Pride III, 38, of Detroit, was sentenced by United States District Judge Bernard A. Friedman.
According to court records, Pride obtained at least $684,644 from Detroit Public Schools by submitting fraudulent invoices for tutorial services that DPS students never received.
Pride’s scheme ran from 2011-2012 while he served as the resident agent and program director of Priority: My Education, a company approved by the State of Michigan to provide supplemental educational services to eligible students, the United States Attorney's Office said.