Charter School Founder Sentenced

Aug. 25 - KGO (KGO) -- The founder of a controversial group of charter schools has received a 14-year prison sentence for grand theft involving your tax dollars. It's been nearly five years since the I-Team first investigated the Gateway schools and their ties to a radical Pakistani cleric.

Gateway Academy operated 12 charter schools around the state, including Oakland and Sunnyvale.

In Fresno yesterday, its founder and president received 14 years in state prison for siphoning off taxpayer and private funds that were supposed to be going to the schools.

Brian Alvarez, state prosecutor: "Her charter school really created a bad name in the charter school movement in the State of California. It generated a lot of civil litigation in addition to this criminal matter."

Khadijah Ghafur was convicted of five counts each of misappropriation of public funds and grand theft by embezzlement, one count of theft by false pretenses, failing to file a tax return in 2000 and filing a false return the next year.

In court, she remained defiant.

Khadijah Ghafur: "I feel to date that I'm absolutely innocent of the charges, and I shall appeal it."

The I-team first showed you almost five years ago how the charter schools began. Three-hundred followers of a radical Pakistani cleric set up this village in the Sierra foothills, called Baladullah.

Along with the schools, they started an online bookstore for the writings of Sheik Mubarik Jilani.

Sheik Mubarik Jilani: "See how the struggle against oppression has to be carried out."

Jilani is listed by the State Department as a terrorist, tied to dozens of crimes across this country  fire bombings and assassinations. He's also been linked to the murder of Daniel Pearl -- the journalist was kidnapped while on the way to meet Jilani.

We obtained a recruitment tape in which the sheik offers training to any American sympathetic to his cause.

Sheik Mubarik Jilani: "Ordinary youth is turned into very-- like tigers."

It covers the use of firearms and explosives, setting up an ambush and hand to hand combat.

Even before our investigation, Baladullah's neighbors were concerned about activity at the village.

Neighbor: "Gunfire in the afternoon and gunfire late at night. Some of it sounds like target practice and other is rapid fire, it makes you question whether or not they've got automatic weapons."

After the I-Team looked into the group's charter schools, the Fresno School District sent officers in search of documents and closed them down.

That investigation ended this week with Khadija Ghafur's sentencing.

This case has had a broad impact across the state. It spurred major reforms in charter school law, to make them more accountable, both financially and academically.

>> E-mail the ABC7 I-Team

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•