FBI agents had a busy day in Beaumont Thursday.
As part of their investigation of the Beaumont Independent School District for possible "bogus accounts and diverted district funds", one group of agents raided the home of BISD director of finance Devin McCraney. Another group raided the home of BISD comptroller Sharika Allison.
Several agents could be seen leaving Allison's home Thursday morning, one carrying a box of documents. Neighbors tell us agents started showing up as early as 7 a.m. Allison has been the school district comptroller since 2008. According to her LinkedIn account, she was previously employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers. As the person responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting for the school district, Allison makes more than $62,000 a year.
We've also learned that Allison's husband is a teacher and baseball coach at Central Medical Magnet High School.
Meanwhile, the feds were at McCraney's home for nearly an hour, collecting at least 5 boxes of evidence. Investigators also searched the two cars parked in front of McCraney's house, each one featuring vanity plates; one reading "SPOYLD", the other, "DA MRS".
For almost 5 years McCraney has been overseeing BISD purchasing, payroll, and benefits, as well as business support services. He makes nearly $80,000 a year.
Chris Boone with the City of Beaumont Code Enforcement tells us extensive construction being done to McCraneys house includes construction of a new garage, a pool, a carport, and a 2,400 square-foot addition to the house. We're told the construction costs total roughly $252,000, double what it would normally cost because construction was initially started without the proper permits, the city says.
Neither the FBI nor the school district provided specific information on either of these raids.
"To come out here in the morning and to see the FBI just sitting in your front yard, you're just like 'well something either bad happened or something is going on that we don't know about yet'," said one of Sharika Allison's neighbors.
12News HD reporter Ellie Cano contributed to this report
