Accountant Reconsiders Plea in Online Charter School Founder's Tax Fraud

An accountant charged with helping the founder and former CEO of Pennsylvania’s largest online charter school avoid federal income taxes on more than $8 million siphoned from the school has reconsidered a guilty plea, the accountant’s defense attorney told the Associated Press Monday.

Attorney Stan Levenson previously told the AP that Neil Prence would plead guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit tax fraud. But Prence’s appearance before a federal judge in Pittsburgh was postponed until Sept. 28 after Levenson said Prence “needs additional time to consider” the plea.

Prence is charged along with Nicholas Trombetta, 61, who pleaded guilty to the fraud last month involving the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School.

The Midland-based school — more commonly known as PA Cyber — accepts public students from districts throughout the state that pay it to educate children. The school had more than 11,000 students when Trombetta was charged three years ago, and still has more than 9,000, according to the AP.

Trombetta acknowledged using the school’s money to purchase, among other things, a $933,000 condominium in Florida, houses in Ohio for his mother and girlfriend, a $300,000 plane and other personal expenses. Trombetta reportedly stashed most of the money away in retirement, the AP said. He’ll be sentenced Dec. 20.

Before Monday’s hearing, Levenson told the AP that “Prence is a well-respected professional with no prior criminal history. He has taken responsibility for his conduct and will be seeking a non-incarceration sentence.”

Levenson didn’t say why Prence decide to reconsider the guilty plea.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • glowing digital human brain composed of abstract lines and nodes, connected to STEM icons, including a DNA strand, a cogwheel, a circuit board, and mathematical formulas

    OpenAI Launches 'Reasoning' AI Model Optimized for STEM

    OpenAI has launched o1, a new family of AI models that are optimized for "reasoning-heavy" tasks like math, coding and science.

  • landscape photo with an AI rubber stamp on top

    California AI Watermarking Bill Supported by OpenAI

    OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, is backing a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content in the form of a digital "watermark." The proposed legislation, known as the "California Digital Content Provenance Standards" (AB 3211), aims to ensure transparency in digital media by identifying content created through artificial intelligence. This requirement would apply to a broad range of AI-generated material, from harmless memes to deepfakes that could be used to spread misinformation about political candidates.

  • clock with gears and digital circuits inside

    Report Estimates Cost of AI at Nearly $300K Per Minute

    A report from cloud-based data/BI specialist Domo provides a staggering estimate of the minute-by-minute impact of today's generative AI boom.

  • glowing lines connecting colorful nodes on a deep blue and black gradient background

    Juniper Intros AI-Native Networking and Security Management Platform

    Juniper Networks has launched a new solution that integrates security and networking management under a unified cloud and artificial intelligence engine.