FBI Raids Office Of PA Cyber School Founder
MIDLAND (KDKA) -- The man who created a cyber school empire in Pennsylvania is now being investigated by the FBI.
Agents raided the PA Cyber Charter School office of Nick Trombetta.
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Investigators weren't saying, but the FBI raided the administrative offices of PA Cyber and those of other ventures founded by Trombetta, the architect of a cyber school empire who has now courted a federal investigation.
When the agents raided Trombetta's office and seized his computer. Sources say it is Trobetta and his business dealings that are the focus of this investigation.
The cyber school has grown to more than 10,000 sudents with an annual budget of more than $100 million.
Critics say each year, excess funds are pumped into other Trombetta ventures such as the National Network of Digital Schools and the Lincoln Interactive which develops and markets online curriculum.
Those ventures have spawned cyber schools throughout the country and now the feds want to determine if Trombetta personally profited.
More recently, Trombetta purchased a farm in Ohio and founded the Avanti Management Group – a for-profit consultant firm.
As part of a two-state sweep, the agents raided Avanti as well.
As we did in our reports investigators will try to untangle this web of business interest to determine whether Pennsylvania tax dollars were misused and whether Nick Trombetta personally benefited.
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