Criminal charges filed in Tulsa Public Schools case involving more than $779,000 in bond funding 

Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) has again made headlines over financial misconduct – this time involving more than $779,300 in alleged fraud using district bond money.

Twenty-seven criminal charges have been filed against Charles Christopher Hudgins, the district’s former bond director, and Allied Engineering Group owners Gayle Gwinup and Thomas McKenna, the Oklahoma Voice reported in a June 4 article.

“Investigators allege Hudgins from 2019 to 2024 used his position at TPS to have the district pay Gwinup and McKenna’s company for dozens of school roofing projects that ultimately weren’t performed,” Nuria Martinez-Keel wrote. “Allied Engineering Group then, in turn, paid most of that money to Hudgins’ personal business, court documents contend.”

Initial charges include conspiracy to defraud a school district, along with embezzlement, and more could follow as the investigation continues, according to Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

“Every dollar stolen is a dollar that never became a safe roof, a repaired classroom or a better learning environment for a Tulsa child,” he said at a news conference.

‘Culture of financial non-compliance’ 

Hudgins, who left the district in February 2025, had been identified “as a concern” that same month in an audit report from the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector’s Office, Martinez-Keel noted.

“The audit found Hudgins’ personal company was a subcontractor for Allied Engineering Group at the same time he was overseeing TPS projects that Allied had been hired to complete. Auditors said this could violate state law and the district’s conflict-of-interest policy.”

Tulsa is the state’s largest public school district, with more than 33,000 students, recently surpassing Oklahoma City.

As previously reported by The Lion, the audit also found a “culture of financial non-compliance” throughout the school system, which had allowed Devin Fletcher, former chief management and equity officer, to embezzle more than $824,000 in district funds.

“Months before a high-level embezzlement scheme at Tulsa Public Schools was uncovered, former superintendent Deborah Gist and her deputies were quietly arranging an exit plan for the official behind it – and using secret payments to a private consultant to manage the transition,” Garrett Yalch wrote for The Frontier.

The district’s current superintendent, Ebony Johnson, was praised by Drummond as a “transparent, collaborative, cooperative” partner throughout the investigation.

“Our students and community deserve every dollar meant for them, and we remain fully committed to supporting the judicial process as this case moves forward,” the district said in a statement.

While Drummond described the district’s implementation of new operational changes and mechanisms as “adequate,” he emphasized the need for all public and private entities to guard against further instances of fraud.

Some educational analysts go further, arguing public school districts nationwide often fail to report cases of graft, embezzlement and other fiscal misconduct.

“A recent series of investigative articles I reported for Our Schools, an education project of the Independent Media Institute, found numerous instances of school purchases and personnel being steered toward decisions that rewarded opportunistic leaders and well-connected companies rather than students and teachers,” wrote Jeff Bryant, lead fellow of The Progressive’s Public Schools Advocate project.

“Even when opportunistic school leaders and exploitative businesses have horrible academic results, as they often do, they still make a lot of money in a short amount of time. And taxpayers – and school children – are worse off for it.”