Hospitality Public Charter High School

FORMER CHARTER SCHOOL BOOKKEEPER PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT OF FUNDS; November 9, 2010; Department of Justice Press Release

WASHINGTON—Ashanti Bumbray, a former bookkeeper for the Hospitality Public Charter High School in the District of Columbia, pled guilty today to a felony charge stemming from her theft of more than $23,000 of school funds, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.; John G. Perren, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office; and Charles J. Willoughby, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.

Bumbray, 32, of Waldorf, Maryland, pled guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before the Honorable Judge Rosemary M. Collyer to a charge of theft from a program receiving federal funds. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Based on the sentencing guidelines, the likely range is probation to six months of incarceration with a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. Sentencing is set for February 9, 2011.

According to the Statement of Offense filed with the Court, Bumbray was a bookkeeper at Hospitality Public Charter High School from approximately September 2008 until February 2009. Starting in early October 2008 through late January 2009, she stole more than $23,000 of Hospitality's funds by issuing checks and initiating banking transactions for her personal benefit.

In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director Perren, and Inspector General Willoughby praised the investigative efforts of the special agent who worked on the case for the FBI's Washington Field Office, as well as Special Agent Kerthalia Peavely of the District of Columbia Office of Inspector General. They also recognized the efforts of U.S. Attorney's Office Legal Assistant Jared Forney and Assistant United States Attorney John D. Griffith, who prosecuted the case.