A former Tulsa Public Schools bond director secretly operated his own consulting company out of district offices for more than a decade while steering tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded contracts to preferred vendors, according to a newly released state audit. Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd's office says the scheme funneled at least $3.7 million in fraud, misappropriation and improper payments away from bond funds meant to repair and modernize the district's schools.
Chris Hudgins, who served as TPS executive director of bond and energy management, allegedly ran the company, M&G Consulting, as his personal business beginning in 2014, all while holding a district position that gave him access to tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money. As reported by News 9, Hudgins resigned from his post in early 2025 after initial audit findings were presented to school board members and administrators, according to 102.3 KRMG.
Auditors say Allied Engineering Group, one of the vendors at the center of the scheme, received more than $58,000 in fees for processing false roofing-contract invoices and at least $499,573 in overpayments overall. According to the audit, Allied paid $2.6 million to Hudgins' company, M&G Consulting, for architectural services, while its payments also included about $1 million for roofing, more than $600,000 for HVAC work and $1 million for interior renovations. Investigators determined that some of those contracted services were never actually delivered.
How the Bidding Was Rigged
The station's report details how Hudgins allegedly manipulated HVAC contract bidding by accepting higher bids over lower ones already on the table, then promising future contracts to vendors if they agreed to withdraw bids from competing district projects. That maneuvering let him direct work to favored contractors while an improper billing method inflated Allied Engineering's compensation on the deals, per the same account.
Auditors also flagged a company called GLD Consulting, which Hudgins authorized to administer the district's PSO energy rebate process even though the school board never approved that arrangement, according to the audit. GLD, formed by three Allied employees, retained 30 percent of the rebate, or $547,782, while the school board approved payments based on Hudgins' recommendations without independently reviewing the underlying project contracts and amendments.
Auditor Blames Rubber-Stamp Oversight
Cindy Byrd said the findings show the need for stronger oversight of public money, adding that Hudgins had free rein over the bond department and that the school board rubber-stamped almost every recommendation he made. Byrd said government employees should not have unilateral control over public finances.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond, whose office is reviewing the full audit, said the new findings build on the investigation that led to criminal charges filed in June. “Bond dollars meant to repair and improve Tulsa schools were treated as someone's personal piggy bank,” Drummond said.
Criminal Charges Already Filed
Drummond and Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler filed 27 criminal counts in June against Hudgins and Allied Engineering Group partners Gayle Gwinup and Thomas McKenna, including conspiracy, embezzlement and kickback charges tied to an alleged $779,000 scheme using voter-approved bond funds, according to a statement from the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office. Those 27 counts carry statutory penalties ranging from five to ten years imprisonment per count under Oklahoma law, and prosecutors have said additional charges remain under consideration.
Court records cited by the Attorney General's Office show McKenna allegedly used a second entity, Starr Design Group Inc., to extend the fraudulent billing arrangement to additional TPS campuses beyond Allied Engineering projects, with offenses spanning more than a dozen school buildings. Kunzweiler said in a statement that his office is reviewing the state auditor's updated findings but cannot comment on investigative matters that may be underway.
Hudgins' attorneys have said their client is presumed innocent and maintains his innocence, characterizing the audit as consisting of one-sided allegations that are not evidence or a verdict. They said Hudgins will respond to the state's claims in court.
A Pattern Stretching Back to 2015
This is not the first fraud scheme uncovered inside Tulsa Public Schools' finance operations. Part 1 of the state's special audit, released in March 2025, disclosed $824,503 in fraud linked to former TPS Chief Talent and Learning Officer Devin Darel Fletcher, who routed funds through fake consulting contracts and was sentenced in November 2024 to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud, according to the Southwest Ledger. That earlier phase of the audit examined more than $37.7 million in TPS expenditures between 2015 and 2023, reviewing over 900 transactions across 90 vendors and identifying more than 1,400 financial discrepancies, many involving invoices that lacked itemized details or proof of service.
The capital funds targeted throughout the scheme originated from major voter-approved bond packages, including a $415 million bond passed in 2015 and a $414 million bond approved in 2021 for campus modernizations and STEM upgrades, according to the Tulsa Public Schools bond program. The misconduct occurred under former Superintendent Deborah Gist, who resigned in August 2023, months before current Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson was appointed in December 2023.
District Says It Cooperated, Current Leaders Respond
Tulsa Public Schools administration said the district cooperated fully with the state auditor and has since added safeguards to increase transparency in its financial reporting protocols. Superintendent Johnson said the district intends to ensure it is made whole, and TPS has said it plans to pursue all legal remedies to receive full restitution.
Governor Kevin Stitt originally requested the special audit of Tulsa Public Schools in July 2022 amid concerns over financial management and record transparency at Oklahoma's largest school district, according to KGOU. The governor approved continuation of the investigation, which took more than four years to complete before culminating in this week's findings.
