FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2020
For media inquiries only, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Conviction of Junior ROTC Instructor at Carver High in Montgomery
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the conviction today of a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) instructor at Carver High School in Montgomery, Alabama for theft of $5,332 in school funds.
Michael Walker, 57, of Montgomery, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Circuit Court to first-degree theft of property for using his position to steal this money from the school. Specifically, Walker used his instructor position to establish a bank account at Regions Bank for the JROTC program. The purported purpose of the account was to deposit money raised for the JROTC program from boosters and fundraisers. Walker established the booster account without Carver High School’s knowledge or permission.
An investigation determined that between October 2016 and December 2018, Walker used the booster-account debit card to make numerous personal purchases unrelated to the JROTC program. Also, during that time, Walker transferred money directly from the booster account to his personal accounts at Regions Bank. In total, Walker stole $5,332.27 belonging to Carver High School from the booster account. Walker compounded his criminal actions by falsifying bank records to conceal his theft.
Walker was sentenced to 24 months, which was split. He was ordered to serve a supervised probationary period of 12 months. Walker paid full restitution following sentencing.
“Based on his experience in the United States Army, Walker was hired by Carver High School to instill virtue and Army values in children attending one of our public schools. Instead, his used his position to enrich himself at the expense of the children he was entrusted to mentor and teach,” said Attorney General Marshall. “His betrayal of our children’s interest and the public’s trust is unacceptable.”
Attorney General Marshall thanked the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts for its investigative assistance in this case. He commended Assistant Attorneys General Jasper Roberts and Kyle Beckman as well as Special Agents of the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their outstanding work to achieve this conviction.
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