A former south suburban private school operator pleaded guilty Thursday to looting hundreds of thousands of dollars from a federal nutrition program intended for needy children and failing to pay taxes on the ill-gotten gains.
Pamela Strain, 63, the founder and president of Beacon Hill Preparatory Academy, entered a guilty plea to one count each of filing a false tax return and failure to withhold payroll taxes for her employees as required by law.
Strain, of Lynwood, told U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo during Thursday’s telephonic hearing that she’s been taking prescription medications for depression and anxiety and has most recently worked as a field supervisor for the U.S. Census Bureau.
When the judge asked Strain what her plea to the charges was, she said firmly, “Guilty, Your Honor.”
Bucklo set sentencing for Feb. 26.
Strain’s plea comes nearly three years after the Chicago Tribune detailed a federal investigation into Strain’s small private school, which operated at various locations in the south suburbs before reopening in Lansing in 2016 under a new name, Lighthouse Christian Academy.
An FBI search warrant made public in 2017 showed that Strain allegedly used much of the funds to pay for a lavish lifestyle, including her home and other properties, luxury cars, spas, salons and shopping sprees at stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Macy’s, the Tribune reported.
The 54-page search warrant also contained details about the conditions at Strain’s schools.
During one visit to the school’s Harvey location in 2015, a state inspector encountered offices with badly outdated equipment and records of a food program that were either missing or incomplete, according to the FBI filing. The school appeared to have no dedicated food prep area, and an empty classroom where food was being stored was infested with moths.
When asked about the problem, the school’s principal “unsuccessfully tried to convince (the inspector) that the moths were pencil shavings,” the filing stated.
According to Strain’s plea agreement, from 2009 to 2016 she caused Beacon Hill to receive more than $4 million in federal funds through its participation in various school programs designed to provide breakfast and lunches, fresh fruits and vegetables, and child care in disadvantaged communities.
The money kept coming in even though Beacon Hill’s nonprofit status was revoked by the IRS in 2012, making it ineligible to participate in the programs, according to the plea.
Strain meanwhile received $2 million in income from Beacon Hill over the seven-year period but failed to report a substantial part of it to the IRS. In her 2013 tax return, Strain reported her total income to be $72,425, allegedly omitting about $466,000 in additional income she’d received from the school.
Strain’s attorney, Michael Monico, had previously told the Tribune that no school funds were used for illegitimate purposes. He said Strain and her family had for years put their own money into the struggling school to help keep it alive.
“This is a very unfortunate situation,” Monico said after Strain was charged in August. “She has devoted her life to helping children.”
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
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