HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – In a shocking announcement on Monday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has unsealed felony charges against five people accused of orchestrating an illegal fraud scheme that awarded unearned certifications to hundreds of Texas teachers.

According to Mike Levine, a chief in the DA’s Office of Public Corruption Division, the ringleader of the operation is believed to have netted more than $1 million through this elaborate scheme.

Photo of Vincent Grayson speaking to FOX 26 in 2023.

Who is accused?

• Vincent Grayson, 57: Head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD. Grayson is charged as the mastermind of the fraud operation. He allegedly made $1,090,000 from the scheme.
• Tywana Gilford Mason, 51: Former director and VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. Mason allegedly used her position as a test supervisor to keep the proxy scheme hidden. She allegedly earned $125,000 from the program. Records show Gilford Mason was prosecuted for bribery in the early 2000s.
• Nicholas Newton, 35: Assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School. Newton is accused of participating in the scheme by acting as a proxy testator. He allegedly earned $188,000 from the program by taking 430 tests.
• Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22: A supervisor at TACTIX who allegedly accepted bribes to allow Newton’s actions as a test proxy. He allegedly accepted $250 each time he allowed testing to take place under his supervision.
• LaShonda Roberts, 39: Assistant principal at Yates High School. Roberts is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to take part in the cheating scheme. She allegedly charged every teacher she recruited, in some cases “in excess of $1,000.”

All five defendants face two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity.

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Levine says this activity stretches back to 2020, but in 2023 the Texas Education Agency noticed some irregularities at an “HTECH” testing site.

“Often these people had previously failed the test, then drove to the Houston area and suddenly they were passing the test with flying colors,” Levine said.

He said that while the TEA was investigating, they received a tip about the scheme that led to more concrete evidence.

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He says that the TEA shut down HTECH at this point, but Grayson didn’t stop the scheme and simply moved it to another test site, TACTIX, where he supposedly recruited Wilhite.

Levine says the paying teacher will come to the testing center, check in, show identification, then leave in five minutes. Newton would sit in their place and take the test.

He says they caught Newton red-handed taking a test in February 2024. He says Newton would often take multiple tests at once.

As for the 200 teachers who received the fake certifications, information about them is limited.

Ogg said at least two of them have been identified as sexual predators and have been charged with sex crimes.

“Once they were falsely certified, they had access through their employment to minor children on and off campus. One was charged with indecency with a child, the other with online solicitation,” she said.

HISD held a last-minute press conference Monday to answer questions from the media. They say all three HISD employees charged are on paid leave and knew nothing about these acts or investigations until “very shortly before the arrests.

They confirm that HISD police helped arrange some of the arrests. They say they don’t know at this time if fraudulently licensed teachers are being hired within the district.

HISD sent this official statement:

“HISD was made aware of the investigation into an alleged conspiracy to defraud shortly before the arrests were made. Any educator who engages in behavior of this nature abdicates their responsibility to our students and our staff and represents a complete betrayal of the public trust. HISD will fully cooperate with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement as the investigation progresses, all three of these employees have been arrested and will be served notices immediately relieving them of their duties.

Additionally, if any teacher currently employed in HISD is determined to have participated in this scheme or fraudulently passed their certification exams, we will take swift action to terminate their employment with the district.”

TEA is the agency DA says will look into the list of 200 falsely certified teachers.

TEA responded to our list of questions with this statement:

“In accordance with State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) rules, TEA will review any and all information shared by law enforcement and take appropriate action against any educator involved in this scheme. SBEC will make a final decision on possible sanctions.”