Ex-Employee Of Workforce DeKalb Charged In Bribery Scheme: Feds

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA -- A former employee of Worksource DeKalb, a federally funded program, has been indicted in a bribery investigation involving a pay-for-placement scheme at a local college, U.S. Attorney John Horn of the Northern District of Georgia office announced Wednesday. Roderick L. Wyatt, 61, of Stone Mountain is charged with accepting bribe money in exchange for approving the enrollment of almost 20 students to a local college, whose name has been withheld, according to Horn.

“Wyatt allegedly sold his supervisory position with WorkSource DeKalb for cash. In doing so, he allegedly accepted a “bounty” for each student sent to a specific college,” Horn said in a news release. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

WorkSource DeKalb (formerly DeKalb Workforce Development) trained unemployed and underemployed county residents individuals so that they could get jobs.

The initiative, which was embedded in a department of the DeKalb County department, footed the bill for these individuals to attend schools or programs to gain vocational skills.

From 2013 up until this spring, Wyatt worked as employment and training supervisor at WorkSource DeKalb. Federal prosecutors allege that in 2014, the president and founder of a pre-screened school offered Watts $100 for each student that he approved to go to his school.

In turn, the college received approximately $82,000 in federal funds, Horn said. The case continues to be investigated by the Department of Labor and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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