Federal prosecutors have unsealed a three-count indictment accusing former Urban Prep Academies CEO Tim King of siphoning school money for personal use and then trying to cover his tracks. The filing alleges King diverted $103,833 from an Urban Prep-affiliated account to pay off personal credit-card bills, and that he deleted financial records after federal investigators came knocking with a subpoena. King, who stepped down from the charter network in 2022 amid a separate sexual misconduct inquiry, has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors have charged King with two counts of federal program theft and one count of obstruction of justice, according to WTTW. The indictment breaks the alleged spending into roughly $54,000 used between May 1 and Dec. 31, 2021, and about $49,000 the following year. It also claims King deleted online records tied to three purported cash donations after he received a federal grand jury subpoena in 2022.
Federal subpoenas zeroed in on reimbursements and emails
Grand-jury subpoenas obtained by WBEZ show investigators were not casting a casual net. Federal authorities demanded "any and all records pertaining to reimbursement payments made to Timothy King" along with emails from his Urban Prep account. Those records were first requested in 2022 as part of a wider look at Urban Prep's finances after local oversight officials raised red flags about the network's reliance on credit cards and cash advances.
Board tightens reins on Urban Prep network
As the federal probe rolled on, Chicago's Board of Education moved to clamp down on Urban Prep's operations. The board approved a targeted two-year renewal for the charter's Bronzeville campus that comes with strict governance and financial conditions, according to records from the Chicago Board of Education. The deal requires a revamped governance structure that separates executive power from board seats, an internal controls plan, and monthly cash-flow reporting. Urban Prep must also cooperate with federal investigations as a condition of staying open.
Serious federal time on the line if convicted
The stakes for King are not small. Each federal program theft count carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, and the obstruction charge carries up to 20 years, WTTW reported. As of the indictment's unsealing, no arraignment date had been set. If prosecutors push ahead, the case will proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
King has also continued to fight the separate sexual misconduct allegations that preceded his resignation. He has denied those claims, and his attorney has said he "unequivocally denies having engaged in any wrongdoing," WBEZ reported. Urban Prep's interim CEO has said the charter network "always cooperates fully with investigations" while leaders work to shore up governance and financial controls under close Board oversight.
