I realize this is about Wellspring but doesn't it have a familiar ring to it?
Grand jury indicts former school CEO
By JONNELLE DAVIS
Register & Bee staff writer
August 5, 2006
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DANVILLE, Va. - The founder and former CEO of a now-defunct school for boys faces 36 federal charges related to his handling of school and personal funds.
Robert Serge Gluhareff was indicted July 25 on three counts of bank fraud, 25 counts of tax fraud, four counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of false declaration and one count of money laundering, according to the office of U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee.
The indictment, which was unsealed Friday, alleges that from 1999 to 2003, Gluhareff and Wellspring Academy ?repeatedly experienced serious financial problems and lacked sufficient money to meet expenses.?
It accuses Gluhareff of a number of schemes to obtain money, including writing and depositing checks on his personal accounts knowing that they would be dishonored; convincing parents to write tuition checks and then depositing the checks before the funds became available; and falsely promoting the school as having licensed counselors.
Gluhareff also is accused of selling the timber rights of
approximately 90 acres of land that had a lien on it, misrepresenting tuition payments as tax deductible ?scholarship donations,? and encouraging parents to solicit corporate matching gift donations for what were actually their children?s tuition payments.
Wellspring Academy, which was located near South Boston, marketed itself as a Christian-based residential school for boys with academic and behavioral problems. Tuition at the school ranged from $43,000 to $49,000 a year.
In April 2003, Gluhareff abruptly closed the school, citing financial problems. In the days following, teachers complained about not getting paid, and parents and students made allegations of abuse, inadequate campus facilities and strange disciplinary practices.
In May 2003, a Halifax County District Court Judge awarded more than $9,000 to a former school employee and two businesses seeking payment for services.
In August 2003, Gluhareff and his wife, Elizabeth, filed personal bankruptcy and corporate bankruptcy on behalf of The Religious and Educational Institute of Raleigh Inc., which encompassed Wellspring Academy.
