Trombetta indictment details complicated scheme
U.S. Attorney David Hickton and a federal grand jury outlined a scheme they say Nick Trombetta used to skim nearly $1 million from PA Cyber Charter School and a foundation he founded, and related entities they say he controlled.
According to the indictment:
• Trombetta founded PA Cyber in 2000 and the nonprofit National Network of Digital Schools Management Foundation, or NNDS, in 2005 to manage the school.
• He founded Avanti Management Group in 2008 and installed four straw owners. The firm made nearly all its money — $9.2 million in 2011 alone — managing NNDS.
• Trombetta and his sister Elaine Neill formed one2one Enterprises in 2006.
One2one:
• Trombetta founded the Buckeye Online School for Success, or BOSS, in 2003 and controlled it until 2006.
• He ordered PA Cyber and NNDS employees to conduct work for BOSS and a company called Wingspan New Mexico that sold online education to districts with Native American students.
• He used Butler County-based Martlin Management, run by high school friend Martin Dorsch, to divert money owed to PA Cyber and NNDS by BOSS and Wingspan to one2one.
• One2one collected $440,000 from Wingspan and BOSS between 2006 and 2008. Trombetta used money from one2one to pay for groceries, meals and travel.
Avanti:
• An unnamed technology company contracted with PA Cyber to provide 11,000 laptops and paid Trombetta, through Avanti, $50 for each laptop in 2010 and 2011.
• Palatine Development, a subsidiary of Avanti, bought a $300,000 twin-engine plane for Trombetta.
• Avanti in 2009 paid $73,000 for an Ohio home owned by Trombetta's then-girlfriend.
• Palatine in 2010 bought Trombetta's home in Steubenville, Ohio, paid off a $110,310 lien and put $47,695 in one2one's bank account.
• Avanti paid $933,000 for a Florida condo in 2011.
• Trombetta made Avanti employees and spouses contribute a combined $40,000 to unnamed political candidates, then reimbursed them.
• Avanti paid $18,000 a month to one2one between August 2008 and June 2012 for consulting it did not provide.
Neal Prence:
• Trombetta and accountant Neal Prence in June 2012 set out to form Presidio Education Network. Trombetta planned to send invoices from Presidio to Avanti to drain its accounts.
• Prence took $8 million in income attributable to Trombetta and put it on the tax returns of Neill and the Avanti shell owners.
David Conti is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7981 or dconti@tribweb.com.
