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Former Iowa school district head sentenced to 2 years for falsely claiming US citizenship

Former Iowa school district head sentenced to 2 years for falsely claiming US citizenship


Former Iowa school district head sentenced to 2 years for falsely claiming US citizenship

DES MOINES, Iowa — The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen when he took a job as an educator.

Attorneys for Ian Roberts said they expect he will likely to be deported to his native Guyana in South America once he serves the sentence. He pleaded guilty in January to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessing firearms.

Prosecutors alleged Roberts knowingly lacked employment authorization for nearly all of his two-decade career in urban education and submitted a counterfeit Social Security card when he was hired to lead the Des Moines public school district, which serves 30,000 students.

Roberts was in his school-issued vehicle when officers stopped him on Sept. 26 in a targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation. He allegedly fled before he was located with the help of state troopers. Authorities said a loaded handgun was wrapped in a towel under the seat and $3,000 in cash was in the car. Three other weapons were recovered during a search of his home.