Former Iowa school superintendent rap sheet, immigration history a long record of criminal conduct – DHS

The United States (US) Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Friday that the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, Ian Roberts, has an extensive criminal history, including drug and weapons possession.
“Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “When ICE officers arrested this superintendent, he was in possession of an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and nearly $3000 in cash.”
The Guyana-born Roberts’ criminal record includes a range of offences, including a 1996 charge for possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forged instrument, and possession of a forgery device in New York.
In 1998, Roberts, 54, was charged with third-degree unauthorised use of a vehicle in Queens, New York. That case was dismissed on July 6, 1999. He also has a 2012 conviction for reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding in Maryland.
In 2020, Roberts was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree weapon charges. A document from February 4, 2020, indicates that the second-degree criminal possession charge was inchoate.
In addition, Roberts’ immigration history includes two visas, four green card applications and subsequent denials, and several trips abroad, authorities said. He entered the US through John F Kennedy International Airport in New York on a B-2 non-immigrant visa and was classified as a visitor for pleasure.
He left the US on an unknown date but returned before his 1996 arrest for narcotics possession. He re-entered the US through San Francisco in 1999 on a student visa, which expired in March 2004, DHS said. He left and then re-entered the US at least two other times on a student visa.

Resume under scrutiny
Roberts resigned as superintendent a day after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners said it revoked Roberts’ administrator licence and the Des Moines School Board voted unanimously to put him on unpaid administrative leave and provide proof that he is authorised to work in the US or face termination.
He did not provide the board with that information.
Roberts joined the district in July 2023 and had previously held leadership positions in school districts across the US for 20 years, according to Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris.
The Des Moines School Board was not aware of Roberts’ immigration issues at the time of his hiring, according to Norris.
Roberts’ resume has come under scrutiny regarding portions of his educational history involving three universities that appear to be inflated or false.
A spokesperson for MIT’s Sloan School of Management said in a statement that they have no record of Roberts attending as an MBA candidate in 2019-2021, as Roberts has claimed on his LinkedIn profile.
A spokesperson for George Washington University (GWU) said the school never gave Roberts a “Principal of the Year” award in Washington, DC, in 2013, as was stated on Roberts’ since-removed superintendent biography on the Des Moines Public Schools’ website. GWU, in fact, does not even issue such an award, the spokesperson said.

Des Moines School Board sues
Meanwhile, the Des Moines School Board met in closed session on Friday and announced a lawsuit against the search firm used in the hiring of the former superintendent.
School Board president Jackie Norris read a statement saying that JG Consulting did not do its job.
“The firm failed its duty to properly vet candidates. Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist,” she says. “And if we knew now; if we knew what we know now, he would never have been hired.”
“The contract required JG Consulting to bring all known information of a positive or negative nature to the board; because that did not occur, we are pursuing legal action as allowed by law. This is about accountability. Taxpayer dollars were used, and we are seeking accountability,” Norris said.
The school board paid the consulting firm $41,000 to find candidates for the job.
A lot of the information on Roberts was discovered online after he was arrested. Norris says JG Consulting was responsible for advertising, recruitment application and resume review and public domain search, and complete reference checks of qualified candidates.
“Clearly they missed things of a negative nature because things are being identified now online in hours,” she said.

Firearms possession charge
The now-former school superintendent was charged by federal prosecutors in Iowa with one count of being an “illegal alien in possession of firearms”, according to court records.
Roberts was initially detained by ICE agents on September 26. He was in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife and $3000 in cash, according to ICE.
ATF agents also found three guns in a search of his home after his arrest.
He appeared briefly for an initial appearance Thursday afternoon, during which he waived his right to a detention hearing and preliminary examination, according to the docket.
The court ordered that Roberts be detained and was advised that an immigration detainer has been lodged.
Roberts entered the US in 1999 on a student visa that expired in 2004, according to the complaint. He has no work authorisation in the US, and a judge issued a final order of removal in 2024, according to ICE.