Founders of high scoring San Fernando Valley charter school charged with theft of $200,000

The founders of one of the region’s highest-performing schools face charges of embezzling public funds and other crimes in connection with the alleged theft of more than $200,000.

Eugene Selivanov, 38, and his wife, Tatyana Berkovich, 32, opened Ivy Academia in 2004, and from its inception, the west San Fernando Valley school has posted high scores on state tests. The charter school also has a history of disputes with its authorizing agency, the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The current charges arise in large part, from a critical audit by the school system’s inspector general as well as from the complaints of residents who live near the school, parents of former students and former employees. The independently run but public school also has many passionate defenders among parents, teachers and community members.

Prosecutors filed a 38-count complaint Thursday, alleging the embezzlement of public funds, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds, loaning or profiting from public funds, knowingly keeping a false account and willfully filing a false state tax return. The complaint, which alleges wrongdoing between 2004 and 2009, also includes misdemeanor counts for filing a false tax return, failure to file a statement of economic interest and conflict of interest.

Through their attorney and a spokesperson, Selivanov and Berkovich have denied any wrongdoing. 

“Eugene and Tatyana are educators and innovators, not criminals,” said attorney Janet I. Levine, in a statement. “They devote themselves tirelessly to Ivy, their students, families, faculty and community, dedicated to their mission of providing the best education possible. Their vision and hard work is demonstrated by the students’ high test scores and many awards, and by the students’ commitment and dedicated service to the entire community.”

Much of the criminal case arises out of the commingling of funds in the early years of the school among the charter and other entities operated by the couple. They have insisted that no money was ever misused and pledged to improve their bookkeeping practices in the wake of the district audit, which was released in early 2007.

Selivanov and Berkovich were expected to appear for arraignment Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court downtown.

If convicted as charged, Selivanov faces as many as 14 years and two months in state prison, according to the district attorney’s office. His wife faces a possible maximum nine-year sentence.

-- Howard Blume

Comments

[kuruc]

deport them back to russia, or is it israel?

[Bruce S]

I'm sure the morons at the LAUSD are out to get them since they make the LAUSD look bad.

[Chanel]

I have been lucky enough to know Mrs. Berkovich and Mr. Selivanov personally, and know for a fact that they would never do something like this. I am an Ivy student myself, and I think that before posting rude, disrespectful, and racist comments people should take the time to look into the school and its academic accomplishments. Every teacher I've had at Ivy has inspired me in one way or another (in fact, one teacher has won the Los Angeles County "Teacher of the Year" award); Mrs. Berkovich and Mr. Selivanov are two such figures.
Point is, Ivy is an reputable SCHOOL. Nothing else. Look at our Standardized test scores. Meet our teachers. Learn about the students. See the campus, complete with its achievement awards and plaques. Then judge.

[hmmm]

@Chanel... althought I get what you are saying you cannot take public funds and put it into another account for other business you own. That is against the law. And pledging to "improve your bookkeeping" is unacceptable as an excuse. If they don't know the legality involved in running a school then they either need to hire someone, seek legal counsel, or ....not do it. You cannot claim ignorance.

[Nicolette Locklear]

First of all, although I'm probably shouldn't even dignify that first comment with a response...stupid comments like that are downright ignorant and to waste your time putting stuff like that online shows your complete lack of a life.

Second, I know absolutely NO FACTS about this case and the accidental commingling of funds or WHATEVER is going on in their personal life but as founders of our school and CHAMPIONS for our children these two are second to none. They hold countless meetings, events, rallies, get out and vote campaigns and more to try and support this amazing charter school that gets ZERO support from LAUSD (as far as I am concerned). They could have easily given up on the hundreds of kids who attend this school everyday because it was too hard without a campus to call our own but they have stuck by us and every single parent that I have spoken to appreciates this effort from them.

I love Tatyana and Eugene. I'm sad for what they are going through and pray for their family and for a speedy trial that resolves in their favor. They are honestly great people that have started an organization, a SCHOOL that has helped so many to find that happy medium between the crap LAUSD has to offer and the high price of a private education. The parents of IVY are thankful and on your side.

~N.L.

[St. George]

I agree with Bruce, witchhunt by LAUSD, this couple probably out-smarted them with their smarts in being able to really run a school-without interjecting politicials, pay to play and all the corruption. Sure glad Prop. E was defeated!

[Rick]

Charter schools are a mixed bag. Over in my area the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools ripped off the taxpayers by leasing the brand new education building at the Van de Kamps site for a sweetheart low price. Van de Kamps was just about to open as a new community college satellite when suddenly the college announced it was renting out most of our college campus to Alliance Charter School. Man that pissed alot of people off.

I am hearing that the local community college district even spent millions of dollars of bond construction funds to benefit Alliance in our new school building. Alliance is like a leech in our community... sucking the blood out of the taxpayers while doing a ho-hum job of teaching their charter school students.

Where are the criminal indictments at Van de Kamps?

[Ivy Parent]

this is America....INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. How quick people are to be the judge and jury. These are two wonderful people who's vision has become an incredible academic establishment for our children. These charges were based on angry parents that left when one of the original administrators left after the first year and they became disgruntled. Unfortunately their vicious accusations and desire to "bring the school and it's founders to ruins" affects our wonderful children. It's such a shame to see such petty anger snowball in such a way.
I support Tatyana and Eugene and urge anyone ready to pass judgment to think about how they would feel if they were under fire. It's not often two individuals go up against such powers of force such as LAUSD. This charter school is holding LAUSD accountable for what the law requires of them, like a campus under prop 39. Ivy has not given up it's fight and has been led by Tatyana and Eugene, and this has, for lack of better terminology, pissed off people in high places. Ivy won't "go away"......it's an incredible school and founded by two incredible visionaries that are not only founders, but also parents of children that also attend the school. They want the best for all the Ivy students and have fought for that since it's conception.
Saying ignorant and hateful things like "send them back to Russia" is ridiculous.......if you're going to comment, please, put some thought and reasoning into what you say.

[Michael "Mayor Sam" Higby]

If the charges are actually true and there truly is misconduct then it is unfortunate and justice must be served.

That being said there certainly need not be a rush to judgement here no matter how politically expedient the LAUSD might want it to be. The District is looking for any reason to kill charter schools because they do not fit the agenda.

Even if the school is guilty of some technical/bookkeeping violations it certainly will not rise to the level of the LAUSD and it's attendant unions much of which is on the take, spending taxpayer money on political campaigns and giving kickbacks to administrators who approve contracts.

This school has performed. The LAUSD has a decades long history of fraud, waste and abuse. Let's go for the truth.

[wow]

Wow finally a Charter gets caught for fraud . This is nothing new. I m sure there is alot more fraud in other Charters also, they all have minimal oversite if any at all. All charters should be audited , just like public schools.

As for Ivy be reputable don't think so. not after this fiasco.

[Arina Goldring]

I am an administrator at Ivy Academia Charter School. I have been with this school for 6 years and worked hard with my teachers and founders to provide the best services to our students. We really know our kids and care about them! I agree that these charges against Tatyana and Eugene are serious, however they are innocent until proven guilty. It is unfair to pass judgement, point fingures, or insult them! I will support Ivy and will do anything in my power to keep our school open!

[LA_Living]

Read the New York Times if you want balanced news on charters and district schools—even those in our own state! Mr. Blume and the Los Angeles Times are too biased to honestly cover charters, and the public is so anti-LAUSD (for good reasons) that they don’t notice the lack of investigative and critical coverage of the charter movement. The New York Times, just type in keyword charter in their search engine, has articles about the lack of financial accountability of charters. Tax dollars wasted on bloated administrator salaries and vacations to the Caribbean. Here in Los Angeles, I know of charters that bought residential properties during the real estate boom. How much tax payer dollars did that waste? It’s probably all legit, but it should be reported to the public. Where’s the investigative reporting on charters by our hometown paper?

We should expect school districts to bring up irregularities of charters in their districts—LAUSD is legally required to oversee charters like Ivy Academia. The district would be remiss if it didn’t. Important to know, it’s the Los Angeles District Attorney's Public Integrity Division (left out of Blume’s article) that is alleging 38 charges against Ivy Academia. Not LAUSD.

[Angela]

LAUSDis simply a sore loser. My husband is a LAUSD public school teacher and our child went to a private school before IVY. Notice we have never (nor will we ever) send our child to a LAUSD public school. From a public school teacher in LAUSD at a "good" San Fernando Valley school, please understand the public school system is 100% broken. The administrators get all the money while the students suffer. They are even restricted as to how much homework they can give out. If a child fails they still advance to the next grade and these students know that so it enforces a lack of trying and caring about their education. We will be sad if Ivy goes under or if its education suffers because another person with less ambition for the students takes over, but we will then be forced to go back to private school. Ivy has a waiting list a mile long to get in and with each student attending, LAUSD loses money. This is just the big failing bureacratic power playing bully to get its way.

[Sue]

The comments are demonstrating two opposite views. Sure, we all feel that LAUSD is not to be trusted with their budget figures, but does that mean that we should let everyone else cheat? Fraud and mismanagement must be reported and punished wherever it is found. What do you think will happen if our legal system ignores the kinds of charges made against the Ivy owners?

As far as the quality of the school, it should not matter one way or another. But take into consideration that Ivy schools operate in upper class neighborhoods and have a very restrictive application. We also don't know how many students stick with the school or are counseled out. Their special ed numbers are low and they have virtually no ESL students and we don't know if someone has tampered with their scores.

Check out TIP charter school on the Charter School Scandal blog. It was run by a former official of the CA Gifted Children's Association. The parents were happy with their children's education until major fraud was uncovered and the school was shut down. Those parents and children were innocent victims of the Hazeltons who were eventually investigated and found to have participated in several schemes to up their compensation. They acted as if they cared about their students thus creating a smoke screen, hoping that the parents would do anything to keep the school open. Any comparison to Ivy?

[Renee Harvey]

This is not an indictment of the hard-working and dedicated teachers, support staff and administrators who work "hand in glove" with parents to provide a quality education for over 1,000 K-12 students, many with special needs. This will be my 5th year as a proud Ivy administrator. Each day I am privy to the gratitude expressed by families whose children were failing in traditional educational settings and who are now excelling because of the personalized attention they are receiving at Ivy Academia. Ivy just received a maximum, 6-year accreditation from the prestigious Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)! We have a waiting list of over 2,000 students whose families want them to be educated in an educational setting where "going above and beyond" to help students succeed has and will continue to be our creed!

[an L.A. teacher]

This article is very confusing. If federal prosecutors are involved, does this mean that money from the federal government was misused? Why didn't the people involve spend more time figuring out federal guidelines for spending money? A poorly planned school should lead one to consider if the test scores are also valid or as creative as the accounting system seems to be.

[Sue]

Just something to consider......of course unscrupulous charter owners are interested in running seemingly successful schools. Poor performing ones are at greater risk of being shut down. So, the longer they stay open, the greater the opportunity to help themselves to easy money.

Did anyone wonder how Ivy was about to receive $40,000,000 in state money for construction while all this was going on? The answer is.......no one is checking. The only reason Ivy got caught was because they were ratted on. Neither the state nor LAUSD are set up to catch this type of illegal behavior. Every time bills are presented to the assembly or the senate to address these issues, the charter operators come out in force to stop them. And, then there's our governor who will veto any such effort.

[A Former Parent]

My kids were there. We left. Some of the teachers were really good. Tatyana and Eugene were never good. They always felt that laws and rules didn't apply to them. The lies, misuse of funds, more lies and general disrespect for others.

If the DA has filed 38 counts, there must be plenty of solid proof.

Their charter should be revoked and the school should be closed.

If you have children at Ivy, get out now.

[J.A.M.]

This is a perfect example of what happens in charter schools. I know for a fact that this is not the first or last charter school that engages in these types of activities. No accountability!

[J.A.M.]

Charters schools get their test scores by eliminating the bad seeds from their schools and cherry picking good students who can help them achieve these types of scores. If they were to compete with the same type of students in LAUSD it would be the same song. Lets get real and look at the facts.

[Elda Blen]

I hope that California will be very proud of
Cerritos High School as one of the 10 best schools in the United States and in California. I feel like I could cry knowing that there are schools whose students and teachers are so motivated that they deserved a big thank you.

Please LA TIMES MAKE A HEADLINE FOR EVERYONE TO SEE AND BE PROUD OF THEIR GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS IN LIFE.