Imagine millions of dollars meant for school repairs, classrooms, and playgrounds vanishing into the pockets of corrupt officials. That’s exactly what happened in Houston, where a jaw-dropping fraud scheme involving a top school administrator and a contractor just ended with guilty verdicts. After a dramatic four-week trial, Brian Busby, the former Chief Operating Officer of Houston ISD (HISD), and Anthony Hutchison, a contractor, were convicted of 33 federal charges, including bribery, wire fraud, and witness tampering. Let’s break down how they pulled off this nine-year heist—and how they got caught.
The Players: Who’s Who in the Scandal
- Brian Busby: The man in charge of HISD’s $260 million budget and 7,000 employees. He was supposed to ensure taxpayer money went to schools—but instead, he allegedly pocketed cash and even got free home renovations. His salary at the time was over $150,000/year while working for the district.
- Anthony Hutchison: A contractor whose companies, Southwest Wholesale and Just Construction, scored lucrative HISD contracts. Prosecutors say he overbilled the district by millions and paid bribes to keep the scheme alive.
- The “Bribe Squad”: Five former HISD officials admitted to taking bribes and testified against Busby and Hutchison. Their roles?
- Rhonda Skillern-Jones: Former HISD Board of Education president, caught accepting $12,000 in a Walmart parking lot.
- Derrick Sanders: Officer of Construction Services, pressured to approve Hutchison’s inflated bids.
- Alfred Hoskins: General Manager of Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations, who greenlit unnecessary projects.
- Gerron Hall and Luis Tovar: Area Managers for Maintenance (South and North), who allegedly rubber-stamped Hutchison’s work in exchange for cash.
The Scheme: Cash, Contracts, and Cover-Ups
This wasn’t just a few under-the-table deals. The scam ran like a well-oiled machine:
- Rigged Contracts: Busby strong-armed HISD staff to award Hutchison’s companies projects, bypassing competitive bidding. After Hurricane Harvey, Hutchison scored even bigger contracts for repairs.
- Bribes in Parking Lots: Skillern-Jones testified that Busby handed her $12,000 in cash in a Walmart parking lot after Hutchison’s company completed two school projects.
- Lavish Trips and Gambling: Some officials received bribes during wild Vegas getaways. One witness recalled Hutchison yelling “next!” to signal it was Busby’s turn for a cash payout.
- Overbilling Bonanza: Hutchison’s companies charged HISD double for supplies like lawn care and construction materials, pocketing over $6 million in fraudulent charges.
- Tax Tricks: Busby deposited nearly $3 million in unexplained cash into 18 bank accounts. Hutchison wrote fake checks to cover bribes and gambling debts, then lied on his taxes.
Gerry Monroe, a community activist from Houston’s Third Ward, was known as The Five Star General on social media and YouTube before he passed in 2024. He has been discussing the buildup for years. Here is a video from three years ago. It covers the wire Rhonda Skillern Jones was wearing while collecting the bribe money.
The Cover-Up: “Just Say It Was for Gambling!”
When the FBI started investigating in 2018, Busby and Hutchison panicked. They pressured witnesses to lie, telling one official to claim a damning handwritten ledger (detailing bribes) was just “gambling notes”. But the evidence was overwhelming:
- The Ledger: Found in Hutchison’s home, it listed every bribe payment and project.
- Text Messages and Bank Records: Showed a trail of cash deposits, fake invoices, and cozy communication between the duo.
The Fallout: What Happens Now?
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen presided over the trial and has set sentencing for July 28. At that time, Busby and Hutchison face up to five, 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the conspiracy, bribery and witness tampering charges. Hutchison also faces up to 20 years for each count of wire fraud. All charges also carry a $250,000 maximum possible fine. Skillern-Jones, 39, Houston; Sanders, 50, Hoskins, 58, Hall, 48, all of Missouri City; and Tovar, 39, Huffman have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charges. They face up to five years in prison. — U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei called the scheme a “betrayal” of Houston’s students, while the FBI vowed to root out corruption. HISD is Texas’s largest school district, serving predominantly low-income students. Every dollar diverted to luxury trips or home renovations meant fewer resources for classrooms, teachers, and kids. The trial had more than 50 witnesses. There was a mountain of evidence, from Vegas selfies to parking lot cash drops. All of this revealed a picture of greed that’s so bold it’s unbelievable.