Midwest
Search firm behind illegal immigrant superintendent selection recruits top school leaders nationwide
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The executive search firm that helped Iowa’s largest public school district hire Ian Roberts, an illegal immigrant, has assisted school districts throughout the country in hiring hundreds of superintendents and other educational leaders.
One-Fourth Consulting, which operates under its brand JG Consulting, was sued in the Iowa District Court for Polk County last week by the Des Moines Independent Community School District (DMICSD) for its role in hiring Roberts, who was recently arrested on immigration and weapons charges. The district is suing the executive search firm for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, general negligence and is also seeking monetary damages.
When reached for comment about the lawsuit, legal counsel for the executive search firm pointed out that JG Consulting, during its decade-long tenure helping schools find new leaders, has placed more than 65 new superintendents and more than 200 other educational executives in school districts across the United States.
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Former Des Moines Public Schools District Superintendent Ian Roberts (right) was arrested last month after fleeing from federal immigration agents, who subsequently found an illegal handgun in his car. (Des Moines Independent Community School District; Polk County Sheriff)
“In our more than decade-long history of doing this important work, we’ve worked with schools to complete more than 65 searches for school superintendents as well as more than 200 others in executive roles,” JG Consulting’s legal counsel, Josh Romero, told Fox News Digital. “At JG Consulting, we are proud of our extensive record of successfully supporting school districts across the nation in identifying candidates for the position of school superintendent and related executive roles. Educating our young people is a tremendous responsibility and we take very seriously the role we play in that process.”
In addition to JG Consulting’s work with DMICSD, the executive search firm has also helped spearhead candidate search efforts for several other school districts around the country, including in Texas, Virginia and in other districts in Iowa, according to a Fox News Digital analysis of public records.
One of those districts, the Eanes Westlake Innovative School District, which is currently using JG Consulting to find a new superintendent, put out a statement following news of the Roberts arrest to assure its community members that it was committed to “high standards” in its search for a new district head.
“While we are aware of allegations in Iowa, the Board believes JG Consulting is conducting a thorough and comprehensive search for the next Eanes ISD superintendent,” district board president, Kim McMath, said. “As we move forward, the Board will require JG Consulting to provide extensive background information on all candidates who advance for consideration. We are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring this process meets the highest standards.”
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Roberts is currently facing federal charges and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Polk County jail, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement from last week. DHS said in its statement that Roberts’ “rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” which the agency said proves “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”
Ian Roberts, former head of Des Moines Public Schools, has a long criminal history, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday. (Getty Images; ICE)
An immigrant from Guyana, DHS said Roberts first entered the country “classified as a visitor for pleasure” in 1994. The agency said he departed at an unknown date but returned again prior to being arrested on drug charges in 1996. Roberts then re-entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999 and never left.
Subsequently, Roberts filed applications for employment authorizations three times, in 2000, 2018 and 2019, each of which was granted and lasted a year. Roberts did not have a valid worker authorization at the time of his hiring for the Des Moines school district.
During his time in the United States, leading up to last month’s arrest during which Roberts fled, the former superintendent was previously convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012, Homeland Security indicated. The agency also indicated Roberts was convicted in Pennsylvania of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in 2022.
Authorities said a handgun was found in a vehicle used by Ian Roberts to flee from pursuing ICE agents when they tried to detain him last month. (ICE)
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Besides those charges, Roberts also has charges of criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument from New York dating back to 1996 and charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon charges from 2020.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, its civil division also served Roberts a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023. It is unclear what prompted the restraining order since it was sealed.
Meanwhile, there has also been confusion over the degrees that Roberts claimed to have attained on his LinkedIn page. Among several schools listed on his profile, Roberts claimed to have attended Morgan State University from 2003 to 2007 and to have been an “incoming MBA candidate” at MIT Sloane School of Management. Morgan State University confirmed that he attended. However, it said he “did not receive a degree.” The MIT Registrar’s Office said that it “has no record of enrollment for a person with the name Ian Andre Roberts, and similarly, there is no record of enrollment in the MIT Executive MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.”
Despite these charges and his illegal status, Roberts has held several high-ranking roles in public education in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, California, Pennsylvania and Iowa.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
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Midwest
Arkansas woman and children found dead at mansion home day after final divorce hearing with estranged husband
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A woman and two of her children were found shot dead in their Arkansas mansion home just one day after a hearing to finalize her divorce, according to officials.
The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that 40-year-old Charity Beallis and two children were found dead with gunshot wounds inside their home in Bonanza, Arkansas, on Dec. 3 following a welfare check. The shooting happened just one day after the final divorce hearing for Charity and her estranged husband, Randall, according to 5 News.
Republican Arkansas Sen. Terry Rice told the outlet that Charity met with him earlier in 2025 and said she was fearful for her life, as well as the lives of her children.
Randall was arrested earlier this year after he allegedly choked Charity on Feb. 16, 2025, according to the report. He was initially charged with aggravated assault on a family member, third-degree domestic battery, and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, but pleaded guilty to a single third-degree battery charge in October.
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Charity Beallis filed for divorce from her husband in March. (Facebook)
According to 40/29 News, deputies said Randall, who is a doctor in Arkansas, wasn’t a suspect as of Friday.
Randall’s attorney told the outlet his client has been cooperative with law enforcement and fully supports the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
He received a one-year suspended sentence and was given a no-contact order with his wife or any of her family members, which Charity approved of.
Charity made a comment on a 5 News article in August, where she wrote, “I’m living this battle right now. I am the victim, yet I’ve been treated like the problem while the criminal — a local doctor — is being shielded by the very system that’s supposed to protect us.”
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Randall Beallis was arrested in February. (Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office)
“I’ve tried to reach Prosecuting Attorney … but he won’t even accept a letter from me. My voice, as the victim, has been shut out,” Charity wrote. “This is not just about me — this is about a system that protects offenders and rejects victims. Lives are at stake, including the lives of young children.”
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Charity Beallis got married in 2015, according to divorce records. (Facebook)
Charity filed for divorce shortly after her husband was arrested in February. The divorce records indicate the two got married in 2015 and stopped living together in February.
After Charity died, on Dec. 4, Randall’s attorney filed a motion to dismiss the divorce case. Charity was seeking full custody of the children.
“Search warrants have been written and executed with more search warrants anticipated during the investigation. Interviews have taken place with more anticipated,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Randall’s attorney for comment.
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Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions rule out All-Pro safety, list 7 others as questionable vs. Rams
ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions will be without safety Kerby Joseph again this weekend, while listing seven other players as questionable.
Joseph and fellow safety Brian Branch were the only players ruled out ahead of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams. Branch is out for the season due to an Achilles injury, but has not been placed on injured reserve yet. And Joseph, who will now miss his eighth straight game, suffered a setback and could be a candidate for injured reserve, per Dan Campbell.
The Lions listed tight end Shane Zylstra (knee), running back Sione Vaki (thumb), wide receiver Kalif Raymond (ankle), guard Christian Mahogany (fibula), safety Thomas Harper (concussion protocol), left tackle Taylor Decker (shoulder/rest) and guard Kayode Awosika (foot) as questionable.
Decker has not practiced this week. But he’s been dealing with a shoulder injury all season and is coming off playing three games in less than two weeks. Awosika missed last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys due to his foot injury. The veteran guard has practiced in a limited capacity all week long.
Trystan Colon and Miles Frazier split duties at left guard last week for Awosika. The Lions will have a decision to make there between those three options, but perhaps for only another weekend.
Mahogany returned to practice this week. He seems like a longshot to play this weekend based on his injury. But the Lions are listing him as questionable after logging three limited practices in his first action back on the field.
Zylstra has been back at practice for two weeks in his return from injured reserve. Heading into the weekend, the Lions have only one tight end on their 53-man roster (Anthony Firkser) and hope to get Zylstra back.
Campbell said Harper has a chance to play against the Rams despite spending the week in concussion protocol. The Lions could sure use Harper, with Branch and Joseph both out, to hold things down at safety with Avonte Maddox against the high-powered Rams.
“Harper will be out there at practice today, so feel pretty good about him, but we’ll see,” Campbell said on Friday morning. “There again, I can’t give you definitives right now, but that’s kind of where we’re at.
“So, we’ll be good. Look, (Erick) Hallett’s been taking reps, (Daniel Thomas) DT’s been taking reps, Maddox has been taking reps. We’ve got plenty of guys. They’re getting valuable reps, so we’re good.”
Raymond has missed two consecutive games due to an ankle injury suffered against the New York Giants. He has a shot to return after working back into practice, and should reclaim his role returning punts.
Vaki has continued to play through his thumb injury. He hasn’t returned kickoffs since suffering the injury, with Tom Kennedy and Jacob Saylors taking over.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee parents sue MPS saying staff member locked students in ‘dungeon’ as punishment
Children at Thurston Woods School in Milwaukee were locked in a boiler room as a punishment, a group of parents say in a recently filed lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed Dec. 8 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court’s civil division by three sets of parents. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is among the defendants.
The parents claim in court papers several employees at the K4-8 elementary school on North 35th Street sent kids to the boiler room if they misbehaved.
Some of those staff members, as well as students, referred to the boiler room as “The Dungeon,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims a former male paraprofessional at the school locked three students in a boiler room multiple times during the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years.
In the lawsuit, the parents said the “dungeon” presented a serious hazard to the children because of the potential exposure to “chemicals, cleaning agents, boilers, and other machinery.”
The paraprofessional resigned in November 2023 after he was investigated for violating several school district policies. At the time, he told district officials he placed the students in the room as a scare tactic, the lawsuit states.
Among the defendants is former assistant principal Dennis Daniels.
He pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of attempted misconduct in public office after failing to alert police that an 11-year-old student brought a gun to school in February 2024.
He initially was charged with a felony, but brokered a deal with prosecutors to instead plead to an amended lesser charge.
“Milwaukee Public Schools is committed to maintaining safe and welcoming learning environments for all students and staff,” Stephen Davis, an MPS spokesman, said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, the district thoroughly investigated this matter in 2023 and took appropriate disciplinary action which included termination of employment.”
In a statement, Milwaukee attorney Drew DeVinney, who represents the parents, described the alleged behavior of school staff as “disbursing and egregious,” and that it appeared no one intervened to stop it.
He urged other families to come forward if they also were impacted.
“Concerningly, MPS did not report any of these instances of seclusion and restraint to the Department of Public Instruction, in violation of Wisconsin law.
“We hope that this lawsuit will serve as a vehicle to prevent further incidents and abuse, and to obtain justice for our clients.”
Chris Ramirez covers courts for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at caramirez@gannett.com.
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