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Friday, September 23, 2016

LOST IN TRANSLATION: U. S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington Issues Steven Ingersoll Sentencing Hearing Opinion; Final Sentencing Hearing Set For December 15, 2016. Grand Traverse Academy $1,626,020 Restitution Request Denied; “Not A Victim” Of Ingersoll's Federal Tax Evasion. Grand Traverse Academy Board “Excused 5 Million” Owed By Ingersoll, Per Brad Habermehl.

Ingersoll explained that, “[t]he controversial $1.6 million ‘prepaid’ is in actuality the remainder of nearly $5 million of contractual and budget authorized earnings that SSM rebated back to GTA according to its needs. SSM put itself at risk with the understanding that as the Academy’s financial condition allowed, SSM would be made whole for this support.” 
September 22, 2016
U. S. District Court sentencing opinion/order

Exclusive analysis, beginning soon.

Highlights include:

-Steven Ingersoll explains the apparent financial statement fraud device he used on behalf of the Grand Traverse Academy to avoid triggering a bond fund balance covenant:

“[W]e used [the end of the fiscal year] to adjust to keep the school from experiencing deficit, and the mechanism by which we did that, initially, was a reduction of management fee creating an accounts receivable at the end of the year then if the – well typically we – we budgeted 12 percent at the beginning of the year, and if it got reduced to 6 percent, then that 6 percent became a receivable at the year-end. 

And the auditor came in, looked at that, and said okay and then that’s – that was the method. 

So later we added to that – we were searching, especially in 2008 – seven, eight, and nine were disastrous years for the academy because of first the fund covenant – the fund balance covenant, followed by the financial collapse in 2008 and the reduction in per pupil funding and its hangover in 2009. Those were three really tough years that – and the [GTA] needed a great deal of support, and we came up with the idea at some point, I think we had actually done that earlier, set up the lease arrangement.”

-Money for nothing: 

“Ingersoll explained, at one point, that he understood the agreement to provide that the receivable owed by SSM to GTA would eventually be excused when GTA became profitable.”

-Ingersoll's history of cash payments to Mark Noss and his Grayling-based Great Lakes Vision during the years Noss was a Grand Traverse Academy board member.

“The payments to Great Lakes Vision Service and Mark Noss are related. Ingersoll explains that Great Lakes Vision is an office owned by Noss in Grayling, Michigan. Ingersoll alleges that the payments to both were for the purchase of equipment, the use of Noss’s facility, and staff for SSM training events unrelated to GTA. In support of this claim, Ingersoll offers a picture of a piece of equipment (court exhibit shown at left) that he allegedly purchased. Ingersoll has provided no other evidence to support the alleged purchase, including, for example, the purchase price or equipment use. The picture alone does not establish that the payments to Great Lakes Vision and Mr. Noss were business expenses and not personal expenses.”


-Former Grand Traverse Academy board president Brad Habermehl's stunning sentencing hearing testimony, confirming that while the charter school board had agreed to “excuse the 5 million” owed by Steven Ingersoll, he still asserted Ingersoll was owed money by the school--the money Ingersoll himself admitted he'd advanced himself and already received during a seven year period between 2007-2012:

Court: You indicated that while GTA was deferring recovery of the 5 million – excuse me, GTA had agreed to excuse the 5 million, they were still nevertheless entitled to receive it when GTA was able to pay, correct? 

Habermehl: Correct. 

Court: How do you record GTA’s prospective liability to SSM when financial conditions permit them to repay it? How is that obligation to repay the 12 percent recorded at GTA, to your knowledge? 

Habermehl: I’m not sure if I’m understanding the question, Judge. 

Court: Well, you indicated that SSM was entitled to the full 12 percent? 

Habermehl: Correct 

Court: They had rebated certain amounts because of the financial condition of GTA? 

Habermehl: Yes. 

Court: But they were ultimately entitled to the full 12 percent at a point in time in which GTA could afford to pay it? 

Habermehl: Correct. 

Court: How is that obligation or liability to repay SSM actually recorded in the GTA’s books? 

Habermehl: It’s not. It’s just an agreement that we had with Steve Ingersoll that when the school was going to be financially sound, and we had figured out that about the time now that we’re in the school years that we would – our debt would be down, the school numbers of students would be higher and that we would be able to pay the rest of the money back to him for the 12 percent total for each year, so those payments were deferred. It was never put into the books. 

Coming soon, only from Miss Fortune.

8 comments:

  1. Will there be any more sentencing hearings between now and December 15th? Thanks again for all your diligence and tireless amount of work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. and this..
    Federal judge agrees with Grand Traverse Academy in Ingersoll case
    http://interlochenpublicradio.org/post/federal-judge-agrees-grand-traverse-academy-ingersoll-case

    ReplyDelete
  3. Had a difficult time reading past "when GTA became profitable."

    Any school that fails because someone's not getting rich off of it is not a school. Schools are supposed to educate people so they can participate in their communities and be functioning citizens. Anyone not red with rage that scam artists like Ingersoll and Noss are using tax payer money to educate children to line their own pockets are not paying attention.

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  4. The real problem is they are taking money from children. An LLC has not right to be running a school and then charging ridiculous amounts for running the schools, rent and curriculum. People get out of those schools and stop supporting the people that are running them. They are doing nothing for your children, the teachers and the community. It is time to stop this blatant act of money laundering. If you want got schools then support the regular public schools.

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  5. I seriously cannot believe how long this has gone on! Why can't these jerks just go to jail so that these teachers and students don't have to suffer anymore?

    I was a former parent at Brian Lynch's school, until I decided that what he was doing to the school was wrong and to watch him get rich over my child and their teachers was not right! He was such a terrible and negative influence on his schools.

    Parents were often times just to afraid to speak out. But I can promise you one thing, Brian Lynch was a complete arrogant, money obsessed loser.

    A friend of my child stills attends NCA and according to this student, Brian Lynch has all of the students fixing up all the building problems at NCA as part of their day! This is absolutely crazy to me, but as I think about it, Brian Lynch is doing it for free labor so that he doesn't have to pay. There must be a law against this?! Students should not have to do things for free so that Brian Lynch can sit on stacks of money at his house in traverse.

    I feel so bad for the teachers at NCA. They honestly are the best part of that school and it's a shame that they have to work under such a jerk like Mr. Lynch.

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  6. I agree with the above statement.

    Not only are GTA's Full Spectrum Management LLC, BCA and NCA's Mitten Management LLC and Ingersoll Smart Schools LLC, cheating the children by not providing them with the proper materials or the teachers with a competitive pay. They are also charging ridiculous amounts for the rent of some of the buildings and office spaces trumping up their income. Then charging ridiculous amounts to run the schools $1 million up to $2 million. Also running insurance scams on eye exams and related charges to pump up their salaries even more. And if that doesn't beat all they sell their curriculum that hasn't even been approved by the state. Of course the use of Glasser's education model and many others are used and they don't own those. But they wrap it all up into a neat ball and charge the living daylights for it. It is money that should be going to the children for better supplies and supporting teacher's salaries, health insurance and classroom supplies and the money isn't used for those things. It is pocketed by all of these individuals to make them wealthy. And the crying shame is the State of Michigan, our Govenor, the supporters of Charter school businesses and the Michigan Department of Educstion are keeping these schools rolling by turning a blind eye and letting the lies continue. And to top it all off the board members are handpicked, the chartering university LSSU was exposed as being part of their scam and any of the administration of these schools are ALL in on it.
    AND NO ONE IS WILLING TO STAND UP AND DO THE RIGHT THING!
    All a bunch of crooks!
    Even the banks are letting them make loans that they shouldn't be because the banks are backed by the government and for the banks they don't care they are making money.
    I am ashamed of what our society has become, letting greed, money and cheaters rule their lives and take over the education of our children. If people don't stand up and shut these schools down and start supporting the regular public schools then all of you are going to be responsible for the pilfering and destruction of our education system. Education was originally set up to support children and teachers and to create better communities and ultimately a better society. The charter schools have been set up so that a business runs a school system and there are no checks and balances as to the accountability of the business running the schools. Easy money for the businesses, take the government money, take the taxpayers money, write up some fake charges and voila we make millions. All of this blatant lying, cheating and stealing sickens me. Mark Noss runs through accountants like water (we can guess why that happens). The board members and school administrators are on the dole and everyone of them lie through their teeth. There are so many dirty angles it is ridiculous. And why is this all going on, because they want to keep the money rolling into their pockets and our government is letting them.
    Their motto is "Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do" how ludicrous. Charter Cheaters everyone of them! Round 'em up and get them the hell out of education!

    ReplyDelete