Ex-school official charged with abusing public trust in case involving at least $100,000

A former Fleming County Schools official was arrested Thursday and charged with abuse of public trust involving more than $100,000, according to Kentucky State Police.

Gregory Conway, of Vanceburg, was the former director of districtwide operations, Fleming County Superintendent Brian Creasman said in a statement.

Police provided no additional details in a news release.

Creasman said in the statement, which he shared with the Herald-Leader, that “we have learned that the irregularities were so complex that even our external auditors were unable to detect them each year. “

“Fleming County Schools continues to investigate this matter as we make sure we fully understand how this individual was able to manipulate the system,” Creasman said. “Over the past several months, we have been able to implement additional safeguards that will protect public funds going forward. We are still working to implement additional protocols as we find irregularities.“

“Over the past several weeks we continued to discover irregularities that only added another layer to this already complex investigation,” Creasman said.

Over the course of several years, Conway “orchestrated the manipulation of people, the altering of district financial systems and safeguards, and abused positional authority all for personal gain,” Creasman said.

He said the fraud was “not an organizational issue, but instead an act of one individual who betrayed the public trust and the trust of the people in the district.”

In June, Creasman announced that police were investigating the district’s finances, calling the irregularities “troubling, selfish, and egregious.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2018 at 8:43 PM.