The remaining defendants in a scheme involving kickbacks and fraud, linked to former Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton, pleaded guilty to federal charges. This action concludes what could have been a prominent criminal trial, which was scheduled to begin soon.
Antonio Ross, 49, and Alfonzo Lewis, 49, admitted in federal court on October 13 to wire fraud charges. These charges carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Devon Horton had previously accepted a plea deal earlier this month, changing his plea to guilty on three counts of wire fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion. Judge Thomas M. Durkin has scheduled Horton’s sentencing for January 5, 2027.
Samuel Ross, 47, was the first among the defendants to plead guilty to wire fraud, doing so on September 29. All four defendants, including Horton, have altered their original not guilty pleas, thus avoiding the trial initially set for October 21.
Authorities allege Horton used his position to facilitate the approval of District 65 contracts with companies owned by the other defendants in exchange for kickbacks. Devon Horton, previously in charge of District 65, appeared at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on October 23, 2025.
District attorneys reported that Antonio Ross gained approximately $119,500 through contracts and gave Horton at least $41,900 in cash kickbacks. Lewis secured $24,000 in contracts and paid Horton at least $6,000. Samuel Ross received $124,500 for purported loss prevention services, paying Horton $30,000 in kickbacks. Notably, Samuel and Antonio Ross are not related.
The indictment claims the defendants made false statements to present Horton as uninvolved financially. Horton’s guilty plea to three charges is expected to lessen his sentence to an anticipated range of seven to nine years. Initially pleading not guilty to all 17 charges, prosecutors have since dismissed one.
The district will seek to dismiss remaining counts after Horton’s sentencing on January 5. Judge Durkin set Lewis’s sentencing for January 25, 2027, and Antonio Ross’s for March 10, 2027; Samuel Ross’s date remains unscheduled.
Aside from these charges, Horton is indicted in Georgia for separate allegations, including aggravated assault, after a personal dispute. Horton had resigned from District 65 in 2023, before taking a position in the DeKalb County School District.