http://wkbn.com/2016/10/11/turkish-government-links-youngstown-charter-school-to-terrorism/
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Over 100 charter schools across the country, including one in Youngstown, could have ties to an international Islamic religious movement, according to an attorney hired by the Government of Turkey.
Attorney Robert Amsterdam came to Columbus on Tuesday. He says Horizon Science Academy and others like it are being used to funnel money to groups opposed to Turkey’s government.
The Turkish government has gone a step further, calling them terrorists.
“We found, really, a tremendous pattern of abuse going on in the United States and what makes the U.S. somewhat unique is that it’s taxpayer money,” Amsterdam said.
Turkey says the religious movement is behind the failed coup attempt that killed 300 people earlier this year.
Read @robertamsterdam's take on the Gülen movement's secretive nature & its role in a failed coup in Turkey:forbes.com/sites/realspin…
In his teachings, Cleric Fathulleh Gulen has said that “studying physics, mathematics and chemistry is worshiping God.”
Concept Schools, a charter schools management company, runs Horizon Science Academy.
Concept’s co-founder, Salim Ucan, appeared in a 2014 documentary about the Gulen movement, and says the schools are based on the desire to serve others.
“All our schools are located in urban environments. So we serve predominantly minority students and predominantly students who are coming from economically disadvantaged families,” he said in the documentary.
Concept Schools denies the allegations and says they’ve never been proven. It released the following statement in response to Amsterdam’s talk on Tuesday:
Buckeye Community Hope Foundation is the sponsor for the nine charter schools that Concept currently operates in Ohio. Its associate director of the education division, Jennifer Robison, says they have never seen any indication of misconduct in relation to the schools.
On Tuesday, Attorney Amsterdam said one way Concept Schools takes advantage of the system is through its real estate company, “New Plan Learning.”
“Schools in Ohio, often under the New Horizons moniker, essentially pay double and triple the market rent, moving the money into the movement itself,” he said.
One of New Plan’s companies bought the Horizon Science Academy building in 2010, the year the school opened, for $550,000. Three years later, the company sold it to New Horizon for $980,000.
All of New Horizon’s money comes from state and federal grants.
"The Gülen movement is a global organization thriving on American taxpayer money," says @robertamsterdam#AuditGulen @OhioAuditor
Robison says the purchase was above board.
MORE NEWS ON HORIZON SCIENCE ACADEMIES - GULEN CHARTER SCHOOLS
http://www.wcpo.com/news/state/state-ohio/lawyer-for-turkey-refers-ohio-charter-schools-to-authorities
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/10/11/charter-school-chain-fleecing-taxpayers-attorneys-for-the-turkish-government-alleged.html
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lawyer-turkey-refers-ohio-charter-schools-auditor-42724827
http://nbc4i.com/2016/10/11/lawyer-for-turkish-government-refers-ohio-charter-schools-to-auditor/
joann@mail.postmanllc.net
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