Gulen's American Empire
Gulen Empire map from Turkish Newspaper. DISCLAIMER: If you find some videos are disabled this is the work of the Gulen censorship who have filed fake copyright infringement reports to UTUBE
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia Science Academy #5 Denied Renewal by LAUS...
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia Science Academy #5 Denied Renewal by LAUS...: Magnolia Science Academy #5 application to LACOE is on this link it's very long but the relevant areas start pg 22 for the Statement ...
Friday, December 29, 2017
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Gulen Charter School Real Estate Scam and Self Dealings Rochester Academy Charter School UPDATE 1/24/2018**
A real estate holding company based in Syracuse cleared more than $300,000 in profit at the expense of a charter school in Greece earlier this year, according to real estate and financial records obtained by the Democrat and Chronicle.
Both the company, Terra Science and Education Inc., and Rochester Academy Charter School, which opened in 2008 as the first local charter high school, have evident connections with each other, and broadly with the nebulous network of Fethullah Gulen, the reclusive and controversial Turkish cleric living in exile in rural Pennsylvania.
Both the school and Terra deny there is a connection, but the D&C investigation has found numerous examples of overlapped personnel, lax invoicing, a lack of auditing and shared community affiliations.
Many Gulen-suspected schools across the country have entered into questionable real estate transactions with related parties, something critics label an attempt to siphon off the public money charter schools receive for their pupils. The importance for Monroe County residents, though, is the disbursal of hundreds of thousands of public dollars to a connected organization.
Such transactions, while not illegal, point to an oversight weakness in charter schools, which rely more heavily on contracted space and services than traditional public schools.
The Democrat and Chronicle has rebuilt the timeline of the deal that generated the substantial return for Terra.
- May 2016: Terra Science and Education Inc. buys a shuttered school building on Latta Road from Our Mother of Sorrows Church for $700,000.
- August 2016 to June 2017: Terra spends between $1.2 million and $1.5 million in renovations. Rochester Academy Charter School (RACS) leases the building from Terra in the meantime for $30,000 a month, paying a total of $300,000.
- June 2017: RACS purchases the newly renovated building for $2.5 million — at least $300,000 more than Terra's costs for purchase and renovation, not including the lease payments.
The fat profit margin for Terra comes from public funding intended for the hundreds of students attending the school — about $5 million in 2016-17, and growing as the school adds grade levels each year.
Under normal circumstances, if a developer turned a $300,000 profit after owning a property less than one year and selling it to a public school, it would be evidence of ruthless commercial skill for the one party and hapless poor luck for the other.
When there is evidence the two parties are connected, it is a different story.
The charter school said it couldn't have purchased the property any other way, because its charter had not yet been renewed and banks were wary to lend. It pointed out that the current mortgage payments will save it $2.5 million in 15 years compared to the erstwhile lease payments.
It did, though, receive what it termed a reasonable mortgage offer several months before its charter re-authorization.
Rochester Academy Charter School insists it has no formal relationship with Terra, much less with Fethullah Gulen. The real story, its leaders say, is a graduation rate above 90 percent, one of the highest marks for schools serving mostly Rochester students.
"RACS is governed by seven independent board members; they make the decisions," the school's Executive Director Mehmet Demirtas said.
Demirtas and a number of other RACS leaders have connections with other Gulen-linked organizations. The RACS board president, Mahmut Gedemenli, was Terra's treasurer in 2010 and 2011, and two other leaders have been identified as representing Rochester's Turkish Cultural Center, an explicitly Gulenist organization.
"I may be a part of any social group, but that doesn’t make the school whatever you call it," Demirtas said.
Over the last 20 years, dozens of charter schools (a minority of the overall sector) have opened across the United States with a few things in common. They're run and partly staffed by Turkish-Americans with professional and personal ties to Gulenist organizations; they sign sizable contracts with Gulen-related entities; and they deny any Gulen affiliation.
Rochester Academy Charter School is one such school.
Allegations of a national or international Gulen network are based not on formal affiliations — RACS denies any connection whatsoever — but rather a well-established pattern of tactics in procurement, hiring and real estate.
One is reliance on Gulen-suspected contractors such as Apple Educational Services, with which RACS has a $15,000 no-bid annual contract for tablet computers. Likely Gulen schools elsewhere in New York have large contracts with the company as well.
A 2013 audit from the New York State Comptroller found RACS had issued split payments to four related companies in a bid to avoid seeking board approval.
Demirtas said this month he couldn't recall who the four vendors were. The Comptroller's office, though, identified them this month as four arms of a New Jersey business co-founded in 2009 by Murat Kaval, the CEO of the openly Gulenist Peace Islands Institute and a former public relations officer for Apple Educational Services.
Another recurring pattern is the widespread use of H1-B skilled worker visas to recruit employees from Turkey. RACS has applied for five H1-B skilled worker visas since 2013, more than every other Rochester-area K-12 school combined.
Former Gulen-suspected school employees elsewhere have alleged they were forced to give up part of their salary in exchange for the visa, a charge those schools have denied.
Demirtas said the school has used the H1-B visas simply to recruit for workforce needs it could not fill locally, including a science teacher and IT administrator.
More generally, he wrote in an email: "We routinely network with other local and regional charter schools, as well as social organizations. To imply that these professional and social intersections are inappropriate is irresponsible."
How the deal unfolded
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Unmasking Gulen: Sibel Edmonds & Newsbud in Austin on Tuesday, December 12
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/wp-content/uploads/Flyer_Print_HANDOUT.pdf
Thursday, November 30, 2017
NAACP calls for investigation of all Gulen Charter Schools
Did you know that Muhammed Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi (pictured), an Imam who exited Turkey and is sequestered in rural Pennsylvania, is operating the second largest affiliated network of charter schools in the United States? (Yes, this is the same Gülen that Michael Flynn allegedly was trying to have extradited from the United States)
In the past I have blogged about the Gülen-affiliated charter schools in the posts Bad Charters, Bad Charters, “Whatcha gonna do when they come for you” and Gulen-affiliated charter schools are bad apples? and Empire of Deceit says charters squandering taxes and violating immigration laws.
When I watched the film Killing Ed, I was skeptical, as I am paid to be. So when I was in Houston to give a talk at Rice University, I ran into a former Gülen Harmony student and asked a few questions.
Q: Was it true that the Gülen schools were populated with many teachers from Turkey who had difficulty speaking English
A: Yes
Q: Was it true that some students didn’t actually do their own science projects as alleged in the film Killing Ed.
A: Yes
I spent more time confirming with the student some of the other allegations about lack of playgrounds, self-dealing, and aberrant behavior from administrators. I was shocked their behavior was being allowed in Texas.
So, I am announcing today, in addition to getting the negative attention they deserve from law enforcement and the media, the California NAACP has now stepped up to the plate with a resolution to call for an investigation of ALL the Gülen charter schools.
RESOLUTION #16 CONCERNING THE IMPACT OF GÜLEN CHARTER SCHOOLSWHEREAS, there exists over 200 schools in the United States operated by the Gülen Organization, teaching over 80,000 American students. This organization operates under the names Magnolia Science Academy (CA), Horizon Science Academy (OH , IL), Harmony Science Academy (TX), Sonoran Science Academy (AR), Coral Academy of Science (NV), Dove Science Academy (OK), as well as others.WHEREAS, audits having been conducted in LAUSD, the State of Oklahoma, the State of Georgia (resulting in their closure), the State of New York, have resulted in a pattern of massive accounting irregularities involving without limitation the use of Gülen related landlords such as Terra (NY, NJ), the Sky Foundation (OK), Harmony Public Schools (TX), Concept Schools (IL, OH), the use of Gülen Related Management Companies such as Accord (CA), Concept Education Services (OH), Apple Education (NJ), Terra Science and Education (NY), as well as others.WHEREAS, Gülen schools; such as Magnolia (CA) have targeted the African American and Hispanic communities as shown in the documentary film Killing Ed.WHEREAS, all 200 Gülen schools recruit teachers from Turkey under the H – 1B Visa program thereby replacing fully qualified American teachers.THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the California NAACP urges federal, state and local authorities to conduct forensic audits of both the schools, and the management organizations operating them.BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the California NAACP further urges that these investigations be conducted by state and federal auditors as opposed to state boards of education, as well as other relevant investigations necessary to evaluate fully the apparent, suspect financial dealings, visa misuse, and highly suspicious conduct.
If you want to understand depth, breadth and shocking nature of the alleged malfeasance against Gülen-affiliated charter schools, I highly recommend you check out the film Killing Ed. (Also, check out the Empire of Deceit website) As shown in the film, the Gülen-affiliated charter schools are some of the worst proverbial bad apples in the charter sector.
What is really disconcerting about charter schools is that they stick together like glue no matter the malfeasance shown to them. They use their charter lobbying associations in California, Texas and elsewhere to fervently protect these bad apples regardless of alleged illegal activity. While charter schools, their leaders, and supporters say vehemently in public that they support transparency and accountability, the $$$$$$$ that they spend in legislatures says loudly otherwise.
Incidentally, one of the Gülen-affiliated Magnolia schools petitioning for re-authorization was rejected recently by the LA school board. Although, the LAUSD board did broker a political deal to allow many, many other charters through. However, in the past the LA County board has overruled LAUSD’s local-control to keep the “embattled” Magnolia.
Please stay tuned to Cloaking Inequity for the other education resolutions passed by the California NAACP. Also, here is another controversial resolution we passed at the convention— but right and important. California NAACP seeks to remove ‘Banner’ as anthem, supports Kaepernick
Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discussion with others.
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Monday, November 13, 2017
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Democracy Under Attack: Fethullah Gülen and the 2016 Attempted Coup in T...
@9:00 Yunus Avcu is interviewed as being the Cash Man for 2 years that moved money
via cash from 1 charter school to another as described in LA Weekly Article
http://www.laweekly.com/news/did-a-california-charter-school-group-fund-an-effort-to-overthrow-the-turkish-government-7666698
Excerpt here
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia still under investigation, up for renewal...
Magnolia Science Academy - A Gulen Charter School: Magnolia still under investigation, up for renewal...: November 7, 2017 is the renewal schedule of #4 and #5 T wo of the schools up for renewal in November are Magnolia Public Schools. ...
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Meet Remzi Kulen -Gulen Movement immigration attorney, & US consulate in Turkey arrests person responsible for approving Gulenist H1-b Visas
Attorney, Remzi Kulen has processed over 1,000 H1-B visas for the Gulen Movement
Making over $3 million in fees that in some cases were paid for by American Tax payers via School Districts.
Look at the list here
http://www.jobsintech.io/lawyers/kulen-remzi-new-york-ny
Arrest in Turkey of US Consulate Visa processor
US Consulate employee arrested as part of Gulen Movement crackdown
he United States says it is "deeply concerned" about authorities in Turkey arresting a local employee of the US consulate in Istanbul.
ISTANBUL-A local employee of the USA consulate in Istanbul has been arrested over alleged links to a US -based Turkish cleric the government accuses of masterminding last year's failed coup.
Another divisive issue is the U.S. support for the Kurdish YPG fighters, whom Washington views as a major ally in fighting Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Syria.
Following the failed coup attempt a year ago, Erdogan blamed the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen for causing dissent and has orchestrated a nationwide purge of all institutions, industries and the armed forces of those Gulenist followers who he claims have infiltrated Turkish society. Gulen denies any involvement.
The employee with Turkish nationality was charged with "political and military espionage" and "attempting to remove the constitutional order", according to Anadolu Agency.
The government says only such a purge could neutralize the threat represented by Gulen's network, which it says deeply infiltrated institutions such as the army, schools and courts.
Tensions with the United States have been further fuelled by the indictment last month by a USA court of Turkey's former economy minister Zafer Caglayan.
Turkey says its former economy minister acted within global law and that charges against him amounted to a coup attempt through American courts.
The American side believes Caglayan illegally moved hundreds of millions of dollars through the USA financial system on behalf of Tehran, while Turkey maintains that he acted in accordance with worldwide law.
http://expressnewsline.com/2017/10/05/united-states-consulate-employee-arrested-as-part-of-gulen.html
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s Foreign Minister claimed a local Turkish citizen previously employed by the US Consulate in Istanbul was being detained due to “terror-related charges” and links to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which the US State Department has said is “without merit”.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu told France 24 in an interview on Friday that there were serious accusations and evidence that the detained person, known only by his initials as M.T., was allegedly spying and had plans to overthrow the state.
“The allegations are wholly without merit,” The US State Department said in a statement on Thursday
Cavusoglu responded to the US State Department’s comments by saying, “This is nonsense, I have to say. In Turkey, we have an independent judiciary and nobody can intervene here. If anyone is involved in illegal activities, they are subject to investigation.”
The allegations by Cavusoglu contradict a previous report by Turkey’s Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the Foreign Ministry denied claims made by the US Embassy in Ankara that a Turkish employee at its consulate general in Istanbul had been arrested.
M.T. was detained by Turkish authorities on September 25 and has remained in custody on “terror-related charges” by a Turkish court since October 4 allegedly having links to US-based cleric Gulen, who the Turkish government blames for orchestrating the failed coup attempt in Turkey last year.
“It’s up to the independent judiciary to give judgment,” Cavusoglu added. “It’s not up to politicians, not up to me and not up to the [US] State Department.”
France 24 inquired as to whether or not the detention of the former US Consulate employee would cause any problems to extradite Gulen back to Turkey.
“We have bilateral agreements with the US including the extradition of such persons,” Cavusoglu said. “We have already transmitted all the evidence that Gulen himself is behind the attempted coup in Turkey. Therefore we ask our counterparts in the United States to start the investigation there and also to extradite him to Turkey.”
“So far it didn’t happen so this is one of our issues with USA,” he added.
Turkey has already arrested 50,000 people from the military, police, and other sectors in addition to dismissing over 150,000 officials throughout the past year following the coup attempt for suspected links to Gulen.
Gulen has denied any involvement in the failed coup attempt.
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/turkey/071020171
UPDATE 10/17 reflects Wikileaks e mails from Remzi law firm and dealings with Azerbaijan Businesses
UPDATE 10/17 reflects Wikileaks e mails from Remzi law firm and dealings with Azerbaijan Businesses
Experts warns Americans on dangers of FETO and Gulen operated charter schools
BOOK
EMPIRE OF DECEIT can be purchased or downloaded from
http://www.empireofdeceit.com
FILM
KILLING ED
http://www.killinged.com
U.S. experts have warned of growing threat posed by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) in the country.
Turkey's Consulate General in Chicago hosted an event over the weekend, attended by Mark Hall, producer, screenwriter and director of the documentary ''Killing Ed'' and John Martin, a senior counsel for a law firm probing financial practices of FETÖ-linked charter schools in the U.S.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the event, Hall said he has been doing his research on the group's activities in the U.S. for more than half a decade.
According to the director, he heard about the July 15 defeated coup from news on television while he was in the process of filming a documentary and ''it was no surprise ''to him to learn that FETÖ'' was behind the coup attempt.
The documentary analyzed in detail the FETÖ’s activities in the U.S, Hall said.
He said the FETÖ's economic pool grows even bigger as the group operates 167 schools in the 26 states of the country.
Most of the Americans are unaware of the group and its activities, Hall said, adding if the U.S. would not put an end to the FETÖ’s activities, the group might pose a similar threat to America which Turkey is currently facing.
- Defeated coup
The FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Martin described the last year's coup attempt as a “great disappointment”.
He said the ongoing FETÖ’s activities in the U.S. pose a serious threat. The Gulen movement is very influential on politicians, local groups and authorities, the senior counsel added.
Amsterdam and Partners law firm has been retained by the Turkish government since at least December 2015 to investigate the FETÖ’s global operations, which include hundreds of educational institutes and businesses.
Umut Acar, Turkey’s consul general in Chicago, said that they were carrying out intensive works to inform American citizens about the FETÖ activities.
“Today’s event was part of these works. Today American speakers talked about FETÖ and corruption instances involving charter schools affiliated with this structure,” he said.
- Allegations of tax corruption
Acar said the allegations of tax corruption against the FETÖ-affiliated charter schools were also discussed in the event.
“We think that investigating such allegations is for the benefit of the U.S. citizens and government, which are very sensitive about tax issues,” he added.
Acar said the schools are serving as ''serious brainwashing centers.''
“American families should be very careful when sending their children to these schools,” he added.
The consul general said Turkey was expecting that those who are affiliated with this group would be extradited to Turkey.
Turkey has so far requested the extradition of more than 100 FETÖ-linked suspects from 40 countries, including the U.S. following the last year defeated coup, according to Turkish government figures.
There has been no progress on Turkey’s request to extradite Gülen.
https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2017/10/03/american-experts-warn-of-feto-as-threat-in-us
http://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/us-experts-warn-of-growing-feto-threat-2794854
Ex Gulen Charter School Student on Podcast "Stuff they Don't want you to know"
http://www.stufftheydontwantyoutoknow.com/podcasts/the-gulen-movement.htm
Robert Amsterdam Presents "Empire of Deceit: An Investigation into the Gulen Charter Schools
http://www.empireofdeceit.com
Horizon Parents Truth: Horizon Science Academies - Charter Schools still ...
Horizon Parents Truth: Horizon Science Academies - Charter Schools still ...: When I worked in the Ohio Department of Education’s charter school office, I was able to observe charter school abuses up close. Since ...
Friday, August 25, 2017
3 Gulen new school applications in Tennessee DENIED California Magnolia Science Academy mentioned.
Local officials in Tennessee rejected on Wednesday the demand of READ Foundation, a Gülenist terror group (FETÖ)-linked organization, to open three new schools in the state.
The board of education in Shelby district decided that the organizational and financial links between the foundation and the schools to be opened were contradictory, the curriculum was insufficient and it was copied from another FETÖ-linked school in Washington, D.C., the Harmony Public Schools.
On the other hand, the FETÖ-linked foundation's annual revenue is a staggering 4,1 million dollars, 3,4 million of which is federal and state funding appropriated for the students' educational costs.
FETÖ runs one of the biggest charter school networks in the U.S. with over 140 schools all across the country.
FETÖ's schools in the U.S. are usually gathered under an umbrella organization and are managed through foundations. As an example, there are 46 schools, all operating under the "Harmony" name in Texas, 30 schools under the "Concept" name in and around Ohio and 11 school campuses under the name "Magnolia" in California.
Fetullah Gülen, a fugitive preacher living in self-imposed exile in the States since 1999 runs the shady cult, which tried to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government last July.
Many schools run by the cult are under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) scrutiny for infraction of rules, corruption, tender fraud and forgery of documents.
https://www.dailysabah.com/americas/2017/08/23/us-officials-reject-feto-linked-foundations-demand-to-open-3-new-charter-schools-in-tennessee
U.S. officials in Tennessee on Wednesday, rejected the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) linked READ Foundation's application for three new schools in the state.
The Shelby District Board of Education was concerned about contradictory financial links between the foundation and the proposed schools, and an insufficient curriculum copied from another FETO-linked school in Washington, D.C., the Harmony Public Schools.
"The application did not address many of the questions and concerns noted during the initial review," the Shelby education board said in a report.
"The application did not address many of the questions and concerns noted during the initial review," the Shelby education board said in a report.
It also added that the FETO linked applicant proposed a goal that 10% of its students would have disabilities. That goal was another reason for denial because in their current school, they have only enrolled 1% of students with disabilities which is significantly less than charter school and regional averages.
Residing in Pennsylvania since 1999, FETO's ringleader, Fetullah Gulen, is known as the man who controls these schools and the $500 million annual income from the schools he receives from the U.S. government, according to some U.S. media reports.
While the administrators of FETO schools denounce that they are connected to FETO's leader Gulen, the financial relationships between the schools and other FETO institutions confirm the relationship.
FETO's schools nationwide are part of the largest charter schools network in the U.S. Some of the schools are currently under FBI investigation for irregularities, unlawful profits, corruption, fraud and forgery.
Turkey has accused the FETO and the U.S.-based Gulen of being the masterminds of the defeated July 15, 2016 coup, which martyred 249 people and left some 2,200 injured. They are also accused of infiltrating educational and other institutions both in Turkey and worldwide for nefarious means, including subverting the state.
http://aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-officials-reject-feto-linked-schools-in-tennessee/892487
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Ex Gulenists tell of extortion by Gulen Cult
Since Ersin Konkur was a 15-year-old living in Turkey, he has been influenced by
the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric who now lives in Pennsylvania and preaches
a moderate version of Islam and the teaching of science and math in schools worldwide.
Konkur was tutored by college students who were part of the movement, assistance that
Helped him get into one of the best universities in Istanbul. But after Konkur came to the
United States to teach math at schools inspired by Gulen's movement, his experience
was markedly different. According to Konkur, Turkish teachers at charter schools in
Texas and Utica were required to pay a portion of their taxpayer-funded salaries back to
the schools. When he ultimately refused to pay the "tithe," Konkur says, he was fired in
2015 from the Utica Academy of Science.
The school strongly denies forcing the payment of any sort of kickback.
Konkur, who says he gave back about $10,000 of his salary over his first year teaching in
Utica, provided the Times Union with what he said were copies of checks he wrote to
charities in Rochester that share an address with a prominent arm of the Gulen movement.
According to a March report by CBS News, the FBI is investigating whether money is
being skimmed from taxpayer-funded charter schools in America that are aligned with
Gulen, with the goal of funding his movement in Turkey. More than 140 schools in
the United States, which focus on the teaching of math and science, are considered
to be part of the movement.
In upstate New York, schools that observers believe are Gulen-inspired operate in Buffalo,
Rochester, Syracuse and Utica. The schools and their governing boards are dominated by
Turkish men, many of them here on visas meant for highly skilled workers.Ersoy also stressed
that Konkur had met with Robert Amsterdam, an attorney retained
by the Turkish government to research and file litigation targeting the Gulen movement.
Turkey's increasingly authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, blames Gulen
— who fled from Turkey in 1999 — for fomenting a July 2016 coup attempt f
rom Pennsylvania, a charge Gulen denies.
"Since leaving (Utica Academy), Mr. Konkur has been a constant critic of the school
, spreading misrepresentations about it and its personnel whenever an opportunity
presents itself — just as he has with you," Ersoy said. "To be very clear, the allegations you
report that he made to you regarding UASCS are entirely false. I would point out that if these
things had occurred, Mr. Konkur could and should have reported them to the New York State
Department of Labor or the U.S. Department of Labor, which would have investigated
and addressed any such conduct. However, he never reported these allegations to any governmental agency."
http://www.caller.com/story/news/education/2017/06/30/school-science-and-technology-open-new-campus/429801001/
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