Attorney General O’Connor Agrees to District Attorney Prater’s Request to Take Back the Investigation Into Epic
Beverly Cantrell - February 5, 2022 11:56 am
FILE - David Prater, Oklahoma County District Attorney.(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
OKLAHOMA CITY – On Friday, Attorney General John O’Connor announced Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater will take back the investigation into Epic Charter Schools.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Epic and its founders since 2013. This investigation originated with and was overseen for several years by District Attorney Prater who was working with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. During the course of the investigation, the Attorney General’s office in 2020 began working with the OSBI through special counsel. In May of 2021, the Multi-County Grand Jury released an interim report. Last Friday, our office received the final report from the OSBI. District Attorney Prater reached out to the Attorney General’s office in recent months requesting that he be the one to take back the investigation once the OSBI finished its investigation, as he had the investigation for many years. Prater will now resume his lead on this investigation and decide whether any charges are warranted.
“Prosecutions must be based on final and thorough investigations by law enforcement agencies,” said Attorney General O’Connor. “Our office has been waiting on the OSBI to complete its full investigation and provide its findings. I appreciate the years of hard work on this investigation by the OSBI and have full confidence in the leadership of District Attorney Prater to take it back and conclude this investigation.”
“The EPIC Charter Schools investigation has been costly, detailed and complex. Yet it was always focused on determining if taxpayer dollars were being properly spent for the benefit of Oklahoma students,” said OSBI Director Ricky Adams. “The investigation was a marathon, not a sprint, always focused on finding the truth and never a referendum on charter schools. Thank you to AG O’Connor and DA David Prater for accepting this case.”
