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MAIZE, Kan. (AP) — The former technology director for a central Kansas school system is among those accused of defrauding the district of more than $1 million, according to a federal lawsuit.
Court records show Ramon Mosate, who prepared the district's technology budget before he was fired, had been the focus of a federal investigation into a fraud, money laundering and kickback scheme that spanned more than five years and involved several vendors that were paid more than $4 million for technology-related services. The U.S. attorney's office filed the civil case in 2014, although it wasn't unsealed until February, about 10 months after Mosate committed suicide, The Wichita Eagle (http://bit.ly/1WOHn1n ) reported.
Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said Mosate's death was among reasons that prosecutors decided that unsealing the forfeiture case would no longer hamper a criminal investigation. Documents in the case name others who received funds from the district as vendors and later made payments to Mosate. No charges have been filed, and Cross described the investigation as "ongoing."
The federal civil case seeks the forfeiture of a lavish northwest Wichita home previously owned by Mosate, about $80,000 in cash from a safe deposit box and about $5,400 in his checking account.
In a separate case filed last October in the probate division of Sedgwick County District Court, the more than 7,000-student Maize school district, which covers Maize and much of northwest Wichita, made a claim "in excess of $500,000" against the estate of Mosate, who had no will. The claim seeks damages for "fraud, conversion, and civil theft, and breach of contract in connection with . embezzlement of funds."
The man's widow, Angie Mosate, says in a Nov. 6 document filed in response to that claim that she was unaware of any alleged illegal acts committed by her late husband and demanded the school district show "strict proof" to support the accusations. She argues that any proceeds from his estate belong to her and the couple's four children.
She's also fighting the forfeiture proceedings in the federal civil case, according to court records. She demanded a jury hear the matter. A date for that has not yet been set.
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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com
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