A public school district in Des Moines, Iowa, sued a consulting firm on Friday for “failing to properly vet” a former superintendent detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week.
The lawsuit, filed by the Des Moines Public Schools Board in state court, blames JG Consulting for facilitating the 2022-2023 superintendent search that led to the hiring of Ian Roberts, an illegal immigrant from Guyana with an extensive criminal record.
The school board alleges the firm breached an executive search agreement by neglecting to disclose “all known information of a positive or negative nature regarding any candidate,” namely, Roberts.
“JG Consulting materially breached the Agreement by, among other things, failing to properly vet Roberts and by referring Roberts as a candidate when he could not lawfully hold the position,” the lawsuit states.
The Washington Examiner contacted JG Consulting for comment on the lawsuit.
Jackie Norris, chairwoman of the school board, announced the legal action during a Friday meeting. She said the consulting firm should have done a better background check on Roberts, considering public reporting has unearthed his criminal history and immigration status since his arrest.
“It’s clear that people are identifying and finding information in a matter of hours,” Norris said. “And so it’s probably something that they should have caught, and that was our expectation.”
The lawsuit says the district has sustained damages and reputational harm as a result of the former superintendent’s arrest and the backlash that came with it.
“We are pursuing legal action as allowed by law. This is about accountability, taxpayer dollars, and we are seeking accountability,” Norris added. “As the facts revealed themselves over the past several days, it was crystal clear that the search firm did not do its job.”
Last Friday, ICE detained Roberts and confiscated his loaded handgun, fixed-blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash found in his vehicle. He had lived and worked in the United States illegally without any work authorization for years.
Roberts was the superintendent from July 2023 until his resignation on Tuesday. Two days later, the Department of Justice charged him as an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms.
His rap sheet includes multiple charges related to firearms violations, criminal possession of narcotics, and reckless driving over the past 30 years, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
EX-IOWA SUPERINTENDENT FEDERALLY CHARGED AFTER ICE ARREST
“Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
“When ICE officers arrested this Superintendent, he was in possession of an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and nearly $3,000 in cash,” she added. “This criminal illegal alien is now in U.S. Marshals custody and facing charges for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearms. Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST.”
