A former CEO of an Atlanta-based daycare chain will spend two years and a month in federal prison for stealing nearly $2 million in nutrition funds used to feed needy children, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Antonio T. Hurt, 39, of Macon, arranged for Bright Star Early Learning Center to participate in the Child and Adult Food Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The federal program partially reimburses day care centers for serving breakfast and lunch to children from low-income families. But prosecutors said Hurt submitted fraudulent claims that misstated the number of eligible students in the program.
“Hurt used the child nutrition funds to expand his day care business, lease cars, buy jewelry, and pay for other personal expenses,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in an emailed statement. “Stealing almost $2 million in taxpayer money is bad enough, but stealing funds intended to feed underprivileged children is outrageous.”
Between 2007 and 2010, Hurt served as the chief executive officer of Bright Star Early Learning Center, which owned and operated multiple daycare centers throughout metro Atlanta, and in other parts of north Georgia under the name Bright Star.
Hurt, a former high school principal Georgia and Maryland, was also ordered to pay back nearly $1.9 million.
“We hope this conviction sends a strong warning to anyone who might consider taking advantage of this program through fraud or deception,” Amy M. Jacobs, interim commissioner for Bright from the Start, said Friday afternoon in an emailed statement.
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