A man from Ohio, who was involved in creating and administrating two charter schools in Columbus, pled guilty to bank fraud conspiracy last week.
A 59-year-old man named Abdirizak Y. Farah admitted to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio that he had used student loans to purchase a house in New Albany.
In 2007 and 2020, Farah established Focus Learning Academy in Northern Columbus and Central Columbus, respectively.
Farah bought a house in New Albany for $900,000 in August 2020. The individual in question allegedly asked for the transfer of $265,000 from an account belonging to Focus Learning to another individual just two days before the scheduled closure date, intending to purchase “learning materials,” as documented in court records.
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He also sent a letter to the bank that was managing the closing on his house that very day. He received $260,000 in gift contributions that had nothing to do with the real estate deal, according to the letter.
The beneficiary of the transferred monies then sent $260,000 via wire transfer to the closing title company the following business day.
The individual who assisted Farah received $265,000 from several vendors or Focus Learning, which was subsequently refunded to the institution.
The United States will receive $265,000 from Farah as part of his plea deal.
Farah may spend the next 30 years behind bars.
