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Press Release
Press Release
“I would like to commend the jury for its careful review of the evidence presented in this case. For the past three weeks, the members of the jury patiently listened to many hours of testimony about the fraud perpetrated by David Shulick on the Philadelphia School District and, by extension, the students of Delaware Valley High School’s Southwest School.
Shulick secured funding from the School District by promising to provide at-risk students with a level of guidance counseling appropriate for their needs, psychological support services, and school security. He also promised to pay teachers a decent wage. He flagrantly broke all of these promises. Instead, he took money specifically allocated for these laudable purposes and spent it selfishly on himself. The evidence presented to the jury showed that he intentionally cheated the School District, the students, and the public.
The jury found Shulick guilty of embezzling over $800,000 in federal funds allocated for use in educating at-risk high school students. In addition, the jury found Shulick guilty of conspiring with Chaka Fattah, Jr. to embezzle funds from the School District of Philadelphia, as well as bank fraud, making a false statement to PNC Bank, and filing false tax returns over multiple years. This verdict serves as a reminder that when it comes to education, my office has zero tolerance for fraud.
Moreover, the evidence at trial highlighted the breadth of Shulick’s fraud, which extended well beyond lies to the School District. In operating his school business, he lied to his accountants, lied to a bank, lied to employees, and lied to the IRS. He used his business like a personal piggy bank and a pass- through to hide his income and expenses from the IRS. He fabricated his business expenses to avoid his tax obligations and support an extravagant lifestyle, which included five-figure renovations on his vacation home at the Jersey shore, the installation of high-end speakers at his mansion in Gladwyne, and dance lessons for his children. He even disguised his housekeepers and nannies as employees of his business in order to cheat on his taxes.
I want to congratulate the trial team of Assistant United States Attorneys Michael T. Donovan, Christopher J. Mannion, Paul Gray, and Eric L. Gibson, as well as this Office’s Chief of Corruption Richard P. Barrett, and the highly skilled team of agents and analysts from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the Department of Education, who worked together to expose Shulick’s shameful criminal activity and presented the evidence to the jury that resulted in his conviction. I am very proud of their dedication and service to the public.”