Todd Watkins, a former director of transportation for Montgomery County Public Schools, has been charged with misconduct in office.
A pre-indictment plea is set for Friday at 11 a.m.
According to court records, his alleged offense dates back to 2016.
Former MCPS Assistant Director of Transportation Charles Ewald pleaded guilty May 18 to a theft scheme involving more than $100,000 and misconduct in office. He will be sentenced Sept. 6 in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Ewald, along with Watkins, have been under investigation for using almost $600,000 of MCPS funds for their personal use.
According to an audit by The Office of Legislative Audits, Department of Legislative Services, MCPS questioned some purchases during its normal review of credit card activity. An internal audit unit by the school district found “questionable purchases,” including gift cards, furniture, and other purchases that were shipped to an employee’s home.
According to an internal audit, MCPS found an account maintained by a transportation vendor, whose name was redacted from the audit. That account was not part of MCPS’ Office of Finance and, therefore, not monitored by MCPS.
After that internal audit was complete, MCPS reported its results to the Montgomery County Police Department. At the same time, they also hired an accounting and advisory firm in December 2021 to conduct an independent investigation of transactions from July 2016 through January 2022.
Watkins was fired by MCPS in February of 2021.
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