Federal charges were filed this week against a South Charleston man who allegedly brought more than 20 athletes to the area under the impression that they would be attending a prep school.
Daniel Andrew Hicks, 43, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Charleston on charges of mail and wire fraud. Between April and September of 2011, federal prosecutors say, Hicks lured athletes from other states and countries to attend his West Virginia Prep Academy, "only to discover after they arrived that the Prep Academy was an illusion," the indictment states.
South Charleston officials discovered the athletes in a two-bedroom unfurnished apartment in September 2011. Most of them were sleeping on the floor. The scheme ended soon after, according to the indictment filed against Hicks.
Hicks created the school as a scheme to defraud and obtain money by false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, according to federal prosecutors.
He allegedly told potential students that attending his school would be a way for high school and post-high school students to play basketball and football and compete for college football and basketball scholarships.
"In truth, however, there was no established school," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith George Thomas.
South Charleston police charged Hicks in 2011 with fraudulent schemes, but he was never indicted in Kanawha County.
Hicks already was in jail when the indictment was returned Tuesday. In February, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint against him, charging him with distribution of heroin and, in March, he was indicted on the drug charges stemming from the complaint.
Hicks also has a 2010 drug conviction from Putnam County.
He is being held without bail at the South Central Regional Jail.
West Virginia law allows anyone to organize a prep school, with minimal oversight or regulation by state authorities.
Part of the alleged scheme, the indictment states, included Hicks applying to the West Virginia Department of Education to register as a private, parochial school.
Hicks, the charges state, made various false statements about the school on websites, claiming, among other things, that the school had a "proud tradition of excellence" and was "a state certified high achievement school."
He also allegedly included false statements that the school offered "Advanced Placement and Honors Courses," including "AP Computer Science," which he claimed was "a rarity among area high schools because of its rigor."
Hicks allegedly made false statements, on a website and directly to potential students, according to the charges, about the athletics and boarding facilities, and its football and basketball schedules for the upcoming school year, among other things.
"It was further a part of the scheme that as a result of defendant Daniel Andrew Hicks's false statements, pretenses, and promises, several students made tuition payments in the form of cash, checks, and a money order to Daniel Andrew Hicks and to the Prep Academy for enrollment in the Prep Academy," Thomas wrote in the indictment.
Hicks told the Gazette-Mail in 2011 that he had made a mistake by allowing some of the young men and their parents to delay payments for tuition and fees, which included payment for food and lodging.
His case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston.
Reach Kate White at kate.white@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1723 or follow @KateLWhite on Twitter.