Federal prosecutors in St. Louis say the former head of a now-defunct St. Louis-area charter school has pleaded guilty to a two-point-four MILLION dollar fraud scheme.

The U-S Attorney’s office says 44-year-old Michael Malone of St. Louis pleaded guilty on Wednesday to three counts of wire fraud.

Malone served as the headmaster of St. Louis College Prep Charter School from 2011 to 2018. Malone admits he falsely inflated attendance numbers to state officials. Federal prosecutors say he got away with it for years, and that he took advantage of Missouri taxpayers and obtained an unfair advantage over St. Louis Public Schools and other charter schools.