DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa's largest school district said it filed a lawsuit Friday against the consulting company it hired to identify superintendent candidates, alleging the company did not properly vet Ian Roberts, who was arrested by immigration authorities last week.
Des Moines Public Schools hired JG Consulting in 2022 to facilitate the leadership search, which led to Roberts' hiring the following year.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements officials have said the Guyana native was in the U.S. illegally and had no work authorization. Federal prosecutors charged Roberts on Thursday with possessing four firearms while in the U.S. illegally, including one authorities said was wrapped in a towel inside the Jeep Cherokee he was driving when agents pulled him over, according to court filings.
The district's complaint accused the search firm of breach of contract and negligence, and school board chair Jackie Norris said the focus is on recouping taxpayer dollars and addressing reputational damage.
“The firm failed its duty to properly vet candidates. Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist,” Norris said. “If we knew what we knew now, he would never have been hired.”
James Guerra, president and CEO of Texas-based JG Consulting, did not immediately respond to phone calls or messages seeking comment Friday. A phone call to JG Consulting's customer service line went unanswered.
The arrest of Roberts after he ran from a traffic stop has shocked and confused the community. Students have walked out of their classrooms in protest. Community members have gathered to pose questions to Roberts’ lawyers, trying to reconcile the vibrant man who engaged with students and staff with the man at the center of a scandal that has grabbed national attention. The Des Moines school board has said it was “a victim of deception” throughout his tenure.
Roberts, who is in federal custody in Des Moines, resigned as superintendent this week after a state education board revoked his license.
Federal authorities said Roberts had a final removal order that was issued last year, and an immigration judge denied a motion to reopen Roberts’ immigration case this April. Roberts' attorney, Alfredo Parrish, has said Roberts was under the impression from a prior attorney that his immigration case was “resolved successfully.”
The district has said Roberts signed a form when he was hired attesting that he was a U.S. citizen, submitting a Social Security card and a driver’s license as verification. District officials also stated they had no knowledge of an order of removal issued in 2024.
ICE officials also said Roberts had an unspecified weapons charge from 2020. Pennsylvania court records show that Roberts paid a $100 fine after pleading guilty in January 2022 to a minor infraction for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle. A Pennsylvania Game Commission officer had stopped him after deer hunting in Erie County.
Roberts said at the time he was a longtime licensed hunter and gun owner, that he left his hunting rifle in plain view to ensure the officer did not feel threatened during their interaction and that he pleaded guilty to avoid distraction.
The district was aware of that charge and officials said it was addressed early on.
The contract between the district and JG Consulting, which has long been available on the district’s website, said the company was responsible for advertising, recruitment, application and resume review, public domain search, complete reference checks and the presentation of qualified candidates. The district serves about 30,000 students and employs nearly 5,000 staff.
Roberts, who has two decades of experience in education, used a doctorate title well before earning a doctoral degree from Trident University International in 2021.
Roberts falsely claimed on a resume he submitted with his application that he earned a doctorate in urban educational leadership from Morgan State University in 2007, according to documents The Associated Press obtained through a public records request.
Although Roberts was enrolled in that doctorate program from 2002 to 2007, the school’s public relations office confirmed in an email that he didn’t receive that degree. A background check during the hiring process said the same, flagging the discrepancy with the resume, according to the district.
The district said the full school board only saw a resume that was revised to indicate he had not completed his dissertation, which is necessary for the degree. But the board did have access to the background check alerting members to the initial variance.
The consulting company was required to bring all information, positive or negative, to the board’s attention but failed to do so, Norris said. “This is about accountability.”