A federal jury in Houston has found former Houston Independent School District (HISD) Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby and contractor Anthony Hutchison guilty on all 33 counts charged, including conspiracy, bribery, and tax fraud. The verdict comes after a month-long trial and just six hours of deliberation.
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Both men now face serious prison time after prosecutors laid out a sprawling corruption case that involved millions of dollars, secret payments, and abuse of public trust. Hutchison was convicted of seven counts of wire fraud.
A Pay-to-Play Operation Inside HISD
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Busby used his position to steer lucrative HISD contracts toward Hutchison’s companies—including Just Construction and Southwest Wholesale—in exchange for bribes. These weren’t just small favors. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, handed off in parking lots or behind closed doors.
Five former HISD officials testified during the trial, all admitting they took bribes to help push work Hutchison’s way. Among them was former school board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who told jurors that Busby approached her with a plan: allocate funds from a 2012 school bond to Hutchison’s company, and they’d all make money.
After projects wrapped up at Holland Middle School and Pleasantville Elementary, Busby allegedly handed her $12,000 in cash in a Walmart parking lot—money straight from Hutchison, she said.
Trips to Vegas, Stacks of Cash, and Skipping the Rules
Others who testified—like former facilities managers and area maintenance supervisors—painted a picture of pressure and payoff. Derrick Sanders described trips to Las Vegas, luxury shopping sprees, and moments where Hutchison would hand out bribes like clockwork. “Next,” Hutchison reportedly said after paying Sanders, calling Busby in for his cut.
One witness, Alfred Hoskins, said his team didn’t want to work with Hutchison’s company because it was too expensive, but Busby forced it through anyway, ignoring standard bid processes to hand out jobs.
At one point, investigators seized a handwritten ledger from Hutchison’s home. It detailed the HISD jobs his company had received and listed bribe payments, including where they were handed off.
Millions Lost to Fraud and Overbilling
Hutchison also overbilled HISD for years through his landscaping company, Southwest Wholesale. According to prosecutors, he charged the district more than twice what he paid for supplies, and then marked it up another 20%. He inflated invoices for mowing services at about 150 schools, racking up losses of over $6 million.
Meanwhile, Busby was depositing millions in cash into over 18 different bank accounts—far beyond what he legitimately earned. Prosecutors say he never reported those deposits in his tax returns from 2015 to 2019.
Hutchison filed his own false tax returns, using fake expenses to hide bribes. He wrote checks to fake vendors, had them cashed, and used the money to pay gambling debts and school officials.
Witness Tampering and Cover-Ups
The case didn’t stop at financial crimes. Testimony revealed Busby and Hutchison tried to cover their tracks. Busby called Hoskins and told him to lie to investigators, claiming he had no role in Hutchison’s contract. Hutchison also told Hoskins to downplay a seized ledger by calling it a record of gambling debts.
“Stealing from School Kids”
“...Busby and Hutchinson defrauded the school district and the taxpayers of millions of dollars, doing so to line their own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “People need to have faith in their public institutions, and they can become understandably cynical when they hear of public servants stealing from school kids by taking bribes and over-billing.
Special Agent in Charge Douglas Williams of the FBI Houston Field Office echoed that sentiment. “For years, Busby and Hutchison defrauded the largest public school system in Texas out of millions of dollars - money that was intended to benefit the students of HISD”
What Happens Next
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen has scheduled sentencing for July 28.
Busby and Hutchison remain free on bond for now but face up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charges. Hutchison could serve additional time for wire fraud.
Skillern-Jones, Sanders, Hoskins, Gerron Hall, and Luis Tovar have all pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and face up to five years behind bars.
This case is the result of a years-long investigation by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert S. Johnson and Heather R. Winter led the prosecution.
