A Florida man has been convicted of stealing $2 million from the Crowley Independent School District in a computer email scam.
Donald Conkright, 63, of Key West, Florida, was arrested in December 2018. A jury convicted him of money laundering last week after a three-day trial.
Prosecutors said in October 2018 an email claiming to be from a legitimate contractor, a construction company, was used to dupe the district's accounting director into wiring $1,995,715.52 to Conkright's personal bank account.
Conkright wired some of the money overseas and also spent $70,000 on Rolex watches and $128,000 on a BMW, prosecutors said.
The Crowley district had planned to use the money to build a new elementary school.
Some of the funds were recovered.
The trial was in Florida because that’s where Conkright lived. The FBI office in Fort Worth investigated the case.
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In a statement, Crowley superintendent Michael McFarland thanked federal authorities for their work.
“Let this conviction send a loud and clear message to criminals who continue their attempts to target school districts, governments and other entities with high-tech, constantly-changing scams,” McFarland said. “We must all remain alert and vigilant together.”
Conkright is set to be sentenced on May 11.
