Ex-Iowa schools chief admits false US citizenship claim, gun charge

The previous superintendent of Iowa’s largest college district pleaded responsible Thursday to 2 federal prices, together with falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen.

Ian Andre Roberts, born in Guyana, South America, was the chief of the Des Moines Public Colleges. He additionally admitted to being an unlawful alien in possession of weapons.

Federal immigration officers arrested Roberts on September 26, 2025, and he resigned from the District’s high put up shortly afterward.

Below the phrases of the plea settlement, Roberts acknowledged possessing 4 weapons, together with a loaded Glock pistol present in his car on the time of his arrest, together with a rifle, a shotgun and one other handgun recovered throughout a search of his dwelling.

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Ian Roberts, the previous superintendent of Des Moines Public Colleges, speaks to college students at Theodore Roosevelt Excessive Faculty in Des Moines on Oct. 21, 2024. (Jon Lemons/Des Moines Public Colleges through AP)

Court docket data present that each one the weapons had been moved throughout state traces, giving federal authorities jurisdiction. Roberts has agreed to completely forfeit the weapons and has waived any proper to problem the forfeiture now or sooner or later.

Roberts initially pleaded not responsible and was scheduled to face trial in March. His responsible plea now exposes him to a mixed most penalty of as much as 20 years in jail on the 2 prices.

The settlement additionally states that Roberts understands that he could also be deported after serving a sentence. A sentencing date has not but been set and prosecutors have agreed to not file extra prices.

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Former Des Moines Public Faculty Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested on immigration and weapons prices. (Polk County Sheriff/Related Press)

The Division of Homeland Safety beforehand stated Roberts has an intensive prison historical past that features drug and weapons offenses.

“Ian Andre Roberts, a prison unlawful alien with a number of weapons prices and a drug trafficking cost, ought to by no means have been allowed to work round youngsters,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated on the time of his arrest. “When ICE brokers arrested this chief inspector, he was in possession of an unlawful handgun, a looking knife and almost $3,000 in money.”

A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment in opposition to Roberts in October. In response to courtroom paperwork, Roberts admitted that he knowingly made a “false assertion” on an employment eligibility verification type, referred to as an I-9, filed in Des Moines, claiming he was a U.S. citizen.

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Ian Roberts, the previous superintendent of Des Moines Public Colleges, delivers an annual speech at North Excessive Faculty in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 11, 2025. (Jon Lemons/Des Moines Public Colleges through AP)

District officers stated Roberts accomplished I-9 when he was employed in 2023, with documentation exhibiting a Social Safety card and driver’s license. He additionally claimed U.S. citizenship in an software to the state Board of Academic Examiners, which granted him knowledgeable administrator license that 12 months.

Authorities stated Roberts acquired a summons to seem earlier than an immigration decide in October 2020, months earlier than his work allow expired, and was later served with a everlasting removing order in 2024. District officers advised The Related Press they weren’t conscious of any immigration-related points involving Roberts.

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Alfredo Parrish, one in every of Roberts’ attorneys, has stated that, based mostly on recommendation from a earlier legal professional, his consumer believed his immigration case had been “efficiently resolved.”

Fox Information Digital’s Greg Norman, Louis Casiano and The Related Press contributed to this report.