Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Devon Horton pleaded guilty Monday, Oct. 5, to three federal charges tied to an $81,000 kickback scheme at the Illinois school district he previously led.

Horton, 49, admitted to wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion in U.S. District Court in Chicago, as first reported by Atlanta News First. The plea marks the latest chapter in a scandal that has left Georgia's third-largest school district without a permanent leader for nearly a year.

Judge Thomas Durkin accepted the plea and set sentencing for Jan. 5, 2027, at 10 a.m., the Chicago Tribune reported.

The charges stem from Horton's tenure as superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 in Illinois. According to the federal indictment, he steered district contracts to companies owned by three friends and collected more than $81,000 in kickbacks between January 2022 and August 2024.

Standing before Durkin on Monday, Horton said he worked with co-defendants "to receive funds without disclosing to the board my financial interests." He also admitted to using a district procurement card for personal meals and vehicle repairs and to hiding the kickback income on his 2022 and 2023 tax returns.

Horton originally faced 17 federal counts. One was later dropped. He pleaded guilty to three of the remaining 16.

U.S. Attorney Emily Vermyllen told the court that sentencing guidelines call for 87 to 108 months if Durkin finds Horton took appropriate responsibility. That range, roughly seven to nine years, rises to 121 to 151 months if the judge finds he did not, about 10 to 12 years.

Durkin remarked he could not recall a case where a defendant pleaded guilty yet the question of accepting responsibility remained open.

Co-defendant Samuel Ross signed a cooperation agreement Sept. 29. Ross admitted he received about $124,500 through his company, Asset Protection, for loss-prevention work that was never performed, according to the Evanston Roundtable. Ross paid at least $30,000 of that back to Horton in cash. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and agreed to testify against the remaining defendants.

Horton's attorney, Terence Campbell, said in a statement that Horton "pled guilty to certain charges today primarily because he received some funds back from some school district contractors he knew and that was wrong."

Two other co-defendants, Antonio Ross and Alfonzo Lewis, had not changed their not-guilty pleas as of Monday. Their trial is scheduled for Oct. 21.

What it means for DeKalb County

Horton served as DeKalb County Schools superintendent from April 2023 until he resigned in November 2025, after the federal indictment.

Separately, Horton faces charges in DeKalb County of aggravated assault by strangulation and two counts of cruelty to children in the third degree, stemming from a Jan. 17 incident, 11Alive reported. A grand jury indicted him on those charges Aug. 4. No trial date has been set in the Georgia case.

Horton's federal sentencing is set for Jan. 5, 2027, in Chicago.