Former CEO of Chicago charter school network charged with misappropriating more than $103,000

Date: April 15, 2026

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CHICAGO - A federal grand jury in Chicago today indicted the former Chief Executive Officer of a Chicago charter school network for allegedly misappropriating more than $103,000 in funds intended to support the non-profit's educational work.

Timothy King served as CEO of Urban Prep Academies, a not-for-profit corporation that operated three charter schools in Chicago. Urban Prep received educational and organizational funds from Chicago Public Schools that were originally derived from the federal government.

An indictment returned today in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleges that in 2021 and 2022, King embezzled $103,833.31 from Urban Prep to pay for his personal credit card charges. The indictment further alleges that after receiving a federal grand jury subpoena and learning of the criminal investigation in 2022, King obstructed justice by deleting online records of three purported cash donations he had made to Urban Prep.

The indictment charges King of Chicago with two counts of federal program theft and one count of obstruction of justice. Arraignment in U.S. District Court in Chicago has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Adam Jobes, Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago, John F. Woolley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General's Midwestern Regional Office, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Public Schools, Office of Inspector General. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Prashant Kolluri and Sean Hennessy.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.