Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released the full criminal and immigration record of Ian Roberts, the illegal alien who somehow became the school superintendent in Des Moines, Iowa.
It’s a long record. The New York Post called his past a “sordid” one of “sex, lies and DEI payouts.”
ICE arrested Roberts last week, and he resigned his nearly $300,000-a-year post shortly thereafter.
For its part, the Des Moines public school system is suing the company that was supposed to vet Roberts before he was hired.
Criminal Record
Roberts’ education career ended after ICE arrested the illegal alien from Guyana on September 26. The arrest cost him a $270,000-per-year salary plus generous fringe benefits.
Roberts was arrested with a loaded gun, a hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash, and tried to flee ICE when he was stopped. It turned out that he lied to the school board about his citizenship, and was registered to vote in Maryland. He falsely claimed to have earned a doctorate.
Now, ICE has revealed the details about his lengthy criminal career, aside from the charge of being an illegal alien in possession of a gun.
On July 3, 1996, in New York, he faced “charges for criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument,” ICE reported.
In November 1998, he faced a charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York. The charge was later dismissed.
Fourteen years later, in Maryland, he was convicted of speeding, reckless driving, and unsafe operation.
He apparently kept his nose clean until February 2020, when he
[faced charges for] for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outside his home or business); third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding device); and fourth-degree weapon charges.
On Jan. 20, 2022, in Pennsylvania, he was convicted of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm, ICE continued.
Immigration Record
Roberts’ immigration history is interesting as well. He landed in the United States on June 1, 1994 on a tourist visa, departed on a date unknown, then returned in March 1999 on a student visa that expired March 7, 2004. He again departed the country, date unknown.
On June 28, 1999, Roberts entered the U.S. on the same student visa, departing on an unknown date. He returned that August, again on the same student visa.
In April 2000, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) authorized him to work for one year, until April 1, 2001. He departed the country on September 4, then returned on September 30 on the student visa again.
Roberts filed for green cards on May 21, 2001; May 15, 2018; and June 4, 2018, ICE reported. USCIS denied those applications. On July 15, 2018, he filed again for employment authorization, which USCIS granted through December 18, 2019.
The next day, July 16, he filed again for a green card, and was again denied. In November 2019, he reapplied for employment authorization, which USCIS granted with an expiration in December 2020.
Why USCIS continued granting permission to work is unclear. On October 2, 2020, USCIS ordered him to appear before an immigration judge. On May 22, 2024, an immigration judge ordered him removed in absentia, and in April 2025, an immigration judge refused to reopen his case.
Post Report
The New York Post disclosed that Roberts lied about attending MIT and was the target of two sex discrimination lawsuits. A former colleague told the Post:
He ruined our district for three years. He was very smooth, affable, but the overarching feeling you got from him was smoke and mirrors, mystique.
“He is also rumored to have been caught having sex with a female co-worker on school property in his previous role as a superintendent in rural Pennsylvania, a post he held from 2020 to 2023,” the newspaper continued:
Former colleagues claimed to The Post that Roberts was a sketchy figure and pathological liar. They said they felt he was hired because of his diversity, equity and inclusion bona fides — and claimed that once on the job, he did little work.
“He was a player. He liked the women,” a source who knew Roberts, who asked not to be named, told The Post.
Another source expressed concern to the school board in Pennsylvania that Roberts might not be a legal resident based on casual comments he had made — but their concern was ignored, they said.
During Roberts’ time as superintendent of the Millcreek Township school district, outside Erie, Pennsylvania, the district coughed up more than $400,000 in sex discrimination settlements, the Post revealed, “claiming Roberts promoted less qualified women over more deserving men.”
Roberts landed the job in Millcreek because school board members were enamored of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). They hired him despite “red flags,” including the 2020 gun charge.
Once he started the job, co-workers, parents, and members of the community noticed that something was off.
“It seemed like he was more about the persona of being the superintendent and not necessarily fulfilling all the responsibilities to the district and parents and students,” a former colleague, who didn’t want to be named, told The Post.
“But those in the community who were pleased with his hire, from a DEI perspective, were reluctant to address it, or didn’t see it.”
Others noticed Roberts seemed more preoccupied with running a side hustle, giving speeches about racial equity and tending to various BLM-themed projects, than doing the work of a school superintendent.
Lawsuit Filed
The Des Moines school system has sued JG Consulting.
The six-page, four-count lawsuit accuses the company of breach of contract and two counts of negligence for passing Roberts off as a suitable candidate for the super’s job.
“JG Consulting materially breached the Agreement by, among other things, failing to properly vet Roberts and by referring Roberts as a candidate when he could not lawfully hold the position,” the suit alleges:
As a result … the District has sustained damages, including but not limited to the costs of employing, compensating, and now replacing Roberts, as well as reputational harm.
The company’s representation that Roberts was a “suitable candidate” for the job was “false,” the lawsuit says. The company “was negligent in failing to exercise reasonable care in gathering, verifying, and supplying information about” him.
“JG Consulting breached that duty by, among other things, failing to conduct or arrange for comprehensive criminal, credit, and background checks on Roberts; failing to conduct adequate reference checks; failing to verify Roberts’ legal eligibility to hold the superintendent position; and otherwise failing to exercise reasonable diligence in the vetting process,” the second negligence count alleges.
H/T: KCCI8
