COLUMBUS, Ohio-Abdirizak Farah, founder of two charter schools in Central Ohio, including Focus Learning Academy, pleaded guilty to fraud after using school funds for personal expenses. He admitted to transferring over $260,000 meant for educational purposes to purchase a home in New Albany. Farah falsely claimed the funds were for learning materials and orchestrated transactions to conceal the misuse of school funds. Multiple vendors associated with Focus Learning made payments totaling approximately $265,000, which were later returned after being routed through an intermediary.
