East Aurora D131 board member Annette Johnson pleads not guilty to federal fraud charges
East Aurora School District 131 board member Annette Johnson, who is facing federal fraud charges related to an alleged kickback scheme involving a $2.7 million district air purifier purchase, pleaded not guilty Monday at her arraignment hearing in federal court in Chicago.
Released on an appearance bond, Johnson’s next court date is set for January.
Johnson’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Monday morning.
Johnson has served on East Aurora’s school board for almost two decades. She previously served as the board’s president, but was ousted last year by current board president Juan Sifuentes.
The federal charges are in connection with an alleged scheme occurring between August 2021 and May 2023. Johnson is accused of accepting a payment of about $1.3 million from a reseller to a company she was working for, in exchange for using her position as East Aurora’s school board president to help get a $2.7 million purchase of air purifiers from the reseller approved. The $2.7 million came from district COVID-19 relief funds.
Johnson allegedly influenced district school board members to approve the purchase, including arranging a meeting between the reseller’s CEO and district officials, per the criminal complaint. The complaint also alleges communications between Johnson and business representatives about the purchase.
In 2021, she was allegedly paid in excess of $7,500 in connection with her work for the companies, including the one that had received the payment from the reselling company, according to court documents. The criminal complaint further alleges that Johnson did not list the companies as a source of income on her statement of economic interest filed with Kane County.
Now, Johnson faces two counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud, Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Liva indicated during Johnson’s arraignment at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on Monday morning.
The maximum penalty for each of the charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, is 20 years in prison. The crime includes a $250,000 fine, or double the amount of money involved, whichever is higher, and supervised release.
Since the criminal complaint was filed in late October, Johnson and her counsel have claimed she is innocent.
East Aurora’s school board President Juan Sifuentes, meanwhile, suggested at a district school board meeting last week that Johnson consider stepping down from her seat on the board amid the controversy. Her current term is set to expire in April 2029, per the district’s website.
She has also been called on to resign by Aurora Mayor John Laesch.
At the arraignment hearing on Monday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer approved Johnson’s release on an appearance bond. According to information stated in open court, she is being released under certain conditions, including that she not have contact with the individuals mentioned, but not named, in the criminal case and that she not travel beyond the area of the Illinois Northern District.
A status hearing is set for Jan. 14, court filings show.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com