Kevin “Scooter” Ward, the late mayor of Hyattsville, Maryland who took his own life in January, is now being accused of having embezzled $2.2 million from KIPP D.C., the city’s largest charter school operator.

In a civil forfeiture filing on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Ward, who worked as the senior director of technology for KIPP’s eight campuses in D.C., created a network of front companies that he then used to produce invoices for tablets and laptops that were never ultimately provided.

The news of the federal investigation into Ward was first reported by NBC 4’s Tracee Wilkins, and subsequently confirmed by DCist/WAMU.

The scheme allegedly took place during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic — when schools were ordered closed and scrambled to connect students to virtual learning platforms — and continued for more than a year. By July 2021, Ward was said to have taken a leave of absence.

Before the plot was uncovered in Dec. 2021, federal prosecutors say that Ward, then 44, allegedly used the misbegotten proceeds to purchase a $169,000 property in West Virginia, at least nine vehicles (including two Teslas worth $218,000 and a Ford F-450 worth $120,000), and assorted art and sports memorabilia.

In a statement, KIPP D.C. said an internal review uncovered the questionable spending allegedly authorized by Ward, and the network contacted the U.S. Attorney for D.C. to investigate.

“The internal review concluded that this was an isolated incident conducted by a single individual who took advantage of extraordinary circumstances during the pandemic and the individual’s role as head of technology,” said school spokesman Tom Clark. “These funds originated from KIPP D.C.’s financial reserves and from a single private grant. No federal grant funds were used to reimburse these fraudulent invoices.”

Clark says KIPP D.C. has already recovered $1 million from its insurance provider, and expects that the Department of Justice’s planned forfeiture of Ward’s West Virginia property, cars, and memorabilia will net another $800,000.

Ward’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and no attorney for his estate was yet listed in the federal courts database.

Ward’s sudden death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier this year shocked the tight-knit community of Hyattsville, where he served as the city’s second Black and first openly gay mayor. “He was a true leader, friend, champion, and cheerleader for Hyattsville,” wrote then-interim Mayor Robert Croslin in a letter to residents. Similar accolades came in from Gov. Larry Hogan, former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, and many others.

Charter schools are publicly funded but managed by private operators. With more than 7,000 students, KIPP D.C. is the city’s largest. Over the years various charter school administrators have been indicted or pleaded guilty for embezzling public funds. In his statement, Clark said that KIPP D.C. conducted an internal review after Ward’s alleged scheme was discovered and had responded accordingly.

“We take our financial responsibility seriously and continue to improve our financial controls and asset management based on the findings of our internal review,” he said. “We have worked to reduce the likelihood that fraud like this could happen again by closing any gaps in our existing systems, making organizational design changes, implementing new policies and procedures within the systems we have, and evaluating longer term systemic solutions.”