Epic paid for extracurricular activities for Epic students in organizations whose coaches were not certified by the Oklahoma Secondary School Athletic Association,” the affidavit states.Ĭhancey said he tried to correct problems at Epic, but Chaney and Harris would appeal to the education department. “Epic did not perform required background checks on their instructors. The Oklahoma State Department of Education complained that Epic was operating sites from churches in Oklahoma City, which was outside of their authorized area. August of 2011Įpic opened, and Dusty Chancey said he immediately had problems with the school. Chaney reportedly presented himself as Epic’s superintendent but didn’t have a superintendent certification. The difference with Epic is that low level investors (teachers/students) don’t lose money because the money is provided by the State of Oklahoma for each student enrolled.” Probable cause affidavitĮpic Charter Schools signs settlement agreement months after Oklahoma auditor exposed alleged misuse of taxpayer moneyĬhancey said he was concerned about the sponsorship because neither Harris nor Chaney had a background in education administration. Even though the low-level recruiters make money through their bonus payments, the owners/managers make more money. The bonus is a small portion of the money the management/owners at the top of the pyramid receive from the addition of each investor. In a pyramid scheme low level investors recruit additional investors (students) and are paid a bonus dependent on the number of investors recruited. The more students that were recruited the more money Chaney and Harris made. The bonuses were paid with state funds and created a situation similar to a pyramid scheme. Teachers were given pay bonuses for each student they recruited, and families were given a bonus credited to their Student Learning Fund account for each student they recruited.

Epic teachers and families of students were encouraged to recruit more students for Epic. “Epic recruited teachers based on a pay scale where they were paid $1,000 per student per year. Officials broke down Epic’s pay scale in a probable cause affidavit, saying it was similar to a pyramid scheme. Oklahoma Department of Education finds algorithm error with Epic Charter Schools

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