Devon Horton

Introduction

Devon Horton is a former public-school superintendent who led Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in suburban Chicago and later the DeKalb County School District in Georgia. On Monday, October 5, 2026, Horton, 49, pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago to three felony counts of wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion for participating in a kickback scheme using District 65 contracts. Originally charged with and pleaded not guilty to 17 federal counts of wire fraud, tax fraud and embezzlement in the fall of 2025 — one later dropped — he agreed on Oct. 5 to plead guilty to counts 1, 14 and 16 of the 16 that remained.

Background Information

Horton resigned as District 65’s superintendent in 2023 to lead the DeKalb County School District in Georgia. The federal case against him arose from his time atop the Evanston/Skokie district: prosecutors allege Horton piloted a fraud scheme using his school position to steer the approval of District 65 work contracts to companies owned by three co-defendants — Samuel Ross, Antonio Ross and Alfonzo Lewis — in exchange for kickbacks and other additional payments. The indictment charges that the four men took or gave kickbacks from businesses they owned that made contracts with District 65 and Chicago Public Schools without disclosing their involvement or financial stake, and that they made “materially false and fraudulent representations” to make it appear Horton had no economic or personal gain from awarding the contracts. Horton pleaded not guilty to all 17 charges at his arraignment at Chicago’s Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on Oct. 23, 2025.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Horton changed his plea before U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin on Oct. 5, 2026. In a statement before Durkin, Horton confirmed that he had participated in a kickback scheme using District 65 contracts, saying he worked with his co-defendants “to receive funds without disclosing to the board my financial interests,” as he pleaded guilty to Count 1, wire fraud. He also admitted to improperly using his District 65 procurement card, or P-card, for personal expenses, including meals and vehicle repairs, and to purposely not disclosing income from the kickback scheme on his 2022 and 2023 tax forms.

According to prosecutors, Antonio Ross obtained approximately $119,500 from work contracts with District 65 and paid Horton at least $41,900 in cash from the proceeds of those contracts; Lewis received approximately $24,000 in work contracts from the district, paying Horton at least $6,000 in cash kickbacks; and Samuel Ross was awarded $124,500 from the district to provide loss-prevention services, paying Horton an additional $30,000 in kickbacks. In his own plea agreement, Samuel Ross said he participated in a scheme in which Horton would award false contracts and approve payments from District 65 to Ross’s company, Asset Protection, for loss prevention work that was never done, in exchange for Ross giving part of those payments back to Horton as kickbacks. Samuel Ross and Antonio Ross are not related.

All four ultimately pleaded guilty: Samuel Ross, the first to accept a deal, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Sept. 29 and agreed to testify against Horton and the two other men at trial; Antonio Ross, 49, and Alfonzo Lewis, 49, each pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Oct. 13, ending the case days before the trial was to begin on Oct. 21.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Horton’s attorney, Terence Campbell, addressed the plea in an email to the RoundTable: “Dr. Horton pled guilty to certain charges today primarily because he received some funds back from certain district contractors he knew and that was wrong. He has acknowledged his misconduct and accepted responsibility for his actions,” Campbell wrote. He added: “Devon Horton is a good man who has devoted his professional life to bettering the education of tens of thousands of students, and I am confident he will be a positive force in his community once this case is behind him.”

In court, U.S. Attorney Emily Vermylen said that based on Horton’s criminal history, he would be eligible for 87 to 108 months in prison — about seven to nine years — if the court deemed he had taken appropriate responsibility for his actions, or 121 to 151 months, about 10 to 12 years, if he had not. Judge Durkin remarked that he could not recall a case in which the defendant pleaded guilty but there was still a question of whether the defendant had taken appropriate responsibility for his actions. Attorneys for Antonio Ross, Samuel Ross and Lewis did not immediately return requests for comment.

Current Status

Horton has been adjudicated by his own guilty plea, but he has not yet been sentenced and no punishment has been imposed. Judge Durkin set his sentencing for 10 a.m. Jan. 5, 2027. Prosecutors said the plea would reduce his anticipated sentence to a range of 87 to 108 months in prison; the most serious count, wire fraud, carries a maximum of 20 years. After the Jan. 5 sentencing, prosecutors will move to dismiss the remaining counts. Among the co-defendants, Durkin set Lewis’ sentencing for Jan. 25, 2027, and Antonio Ross’ for March 10, 2027, while Samuel Ross’ sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Horton also faces a separate Georgia indictment on charges of aggravated assault and cruelty to children after officials alleged he attempted to strangle his wife in front of his two minor children in January. No trial date has been set, and he remains presumed innocent of those allegations.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The guilty plea effectively closed out Horton’s career in school leadership. He had resigned from District 65 in 2023 to take the DeKalb County job, and left the Georgia post after the federal indictment surfaced: Atlanta News First reported that Dr. Norman C. Sauce III had served as DeKalb’s interim superintendent since October 2025, following Horton’s resignation from the district, and was appointed superintendent on the same day Horton pleaded guilty. In Georgia, Horton remains separately charged with aggravated assault and cruelty to children, allegations that have not been tested at trial. Until the January sentencing, his legal exposure remains unresolved: an anticipated seven-to-nine-year range under the plea, the still-pending dismissal of the leftover counts, and the Georgia indictment.

Sources

Evanston RoundTable, “Former District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton pleads guilty to wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion” — source
Atlanta News First, “Former DeKalb superintendent pleads guilty to charges in Illinois case” — source
Chicago Tribune, “All defendants in former D65 Superintendent Horton case have pleaded guilty, averting trial” — source