Valley charter school and co-founders indicted on fraud, theft charges

PHOENIX — Incito Schools and its two co-founders have been indicted on charges of fraud and theft, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said in a press release Wednesday.

April Black and Amanda Jelleson face five felonies including fraudulent schemes and artifices, two counts of theft over $25,000, conspiracy and one count of forgery in an accused half-million-dollar fraud scheme that allegedly occurred between November 2016 and November 2017.

Black and Jelleson are alleged to have provided falsified information, including pay stubs, to the Maricopa County Superintendent’s Office to obtain grant funding.

The two then failed to provide the funding to the appropriate teachers, according to the release.

Black and Jelleson were arraigned in court on Wednesday morning.

Incito Schools has a location in Goodyear near Sarival Avenue and Van Buren Street and a Phoenix location on McDowell Road and 13th Street.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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