(DES MOINES, Iowa) -- The Des Moines Public Schools board announced Friday it intends to pursue legal action against a consulting firm it says it hired in 2023 to conduct a search for a new superintendent, claiming the firm failed to "properly vet candidates" after the district's now-former superintendent was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last week.
Federal authorities said the superintendent, Ian Roberts, is not in the U.S. legally and has not had any work authorization in the U.S. since 2020. He had served as the superintendent of the Des Moines school district since July 2023 until his resignation this week following his detainment.
"Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a finalist, and if we knew what we know now, he would never have been hired,” Des Moines Public Schools board chair Jackie Norris said after the board emerged from a closed session Friday morning.
Norris claimed it has become clear that the consulting firm failed to turn up information "of a negative nature" about Roberts that it should have flagged to the school board.
"It's clear that people are identifying and finding information in a matter of hours," Norris said, in reference to public reporting on Roberts since his arrest by ICE last week. "And so it's probably something that they should have caught, and that was our expectation."
Norris said the search firm, in its contract with the school board, was responsible for advertising, recruitment, application and resume review, public domain search, complete reference checks and presentation of qualified candidates. It also said it would conduct comprehensive reference calls on each applicant to include the verification of all related employment experiences, and would sub-contract with another company for a comprehensive criminal, credit and background check, she said.
Norris said since Roberts' detainment, the district has learned "troubling information about someone we trusted," but did not go into detail.
"We are pursuing legal action as allowed by law. This is about accountability, taxpayer dollars, and we are seeking accountability," Norris said. "As the facts revealed themselves over the past several days, it was crystal clear that the search firm did not do its job."
In response to the litigation, an attorney for the consulting firm, JG Consulting, said the Texas-based executive search firm is "proud of its extensive record of successfully supporting school districts across the nation."
"With regard to Mr. Roberts and his immigration status, he provided the documents necessary to show that he was eligible for the position in Des Moines," the attorney, Josh Romero, said in a statement. "Beyond that, our team conducted a thorough search of his background and utilized a respected third-party company trusted by many search firms to verify Mr. Roberts' information."
Romero noted any "discrepancy regarding his immigration status" was not found by Roberts' prior employers or other consulting firms or boards.
"That the district has now decided to litigate about their choice of candidate at this time, when they have had all relevant information since the beginning, is unfortunate and unwarranted," Romero added. "We will answer any claims brought by the district in court."
The district's petition against JG Consulting, filed Friday in Iowa District Court in Polk County, alleges that the company "materially breached" its obligations under 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 petition noted there have multiple reports since the detainment "casting doubt on the truthfulness of Roberts' stated biographical and professional background," but did not go into further detail.
"As a result of JG Consulting's breaches, 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 petition alleges.
The district is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial, according to the petition.
Roberts, 54, entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa that has since expired, and a judge issued a final order of removal against him in May 2024, according to federal authorities.
He resigned as superintendent of the 35,000-student district on Tuesday, a day after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners said it revoked Roberts' administrator license and the Des Moines School Board voted unanimously to put him on unpaid administrative leave and to provide proof he is authorized to work in the U.S. or face termination. He did not provide the board with that information, according to Norris.
Norris had previously said the Des Moines School Board was not aware of Roberts' immigration issues at the time of his hiring and that the board is "also a victim of deception by Dr. Roberts, one on a growing list that includes our students and teachers, our parents and community, our elected officials, and Iowa's Board of Educational Examiners, and others."
The board says it hired JG Consulting in January 2023 from a pool of 11 companies considered to conduct a search for a new superintendent. JG's pricing bid was on the lower end of proposals submitted to the board, according to district records. The contact called for the firm to be paid $35,000 plus reasonable travel expenses for candidates for the position.
The board said at the time it selected JG that it did so for its record of placing urban superintendents, its strong team and a demonstrated commitment to diversity and equity, as well as noted it submitted a competitive cost proposal.
Following Roberts' detainment, the firm said in a statement on Sunday that its process "included a comprehensive background review by a nationally recognized third-party firm" and that "all required employment procedures were completed by DMPS prior to his appointment."
Roberts remains in federal custody and has since been arrested for alleged firearm offenses. After he was detained by ICE agents on Sept. 26, a loaded handgun was found in his vehicle, and three additional firearms were located in his residence, according to a federal criminal complaint charging him with being an "illegal alien in possession of firearms."
In addition to his citizenship status and eligibility to work, portions of Roberts' resume have also come under scrutiny following his detainment regarding portions of his educational history.
Among them, a spokesperson for MIT's Sloan School of Management said in a statement that they have no record of Roberts attending as an MBA candidate in 2019-2021, as Roberts has claimed on his LinkedIn profile.
A spokesperson for George Washington University said the school never gave Roberts a "Principal of the Year" award in Washington, D.C., in 2013, as was stated on Roberts' since-removed superintendent biography on the Des Moines Public Schools' website.
ABC News reached out to his attorney for comment but did not receive a response.
The attorney, Alfredo Parrish, said earlier this week that his office has filed a motion in immigration court in Omaha, Nebraska, to stay the educator's order of removal.
"This is a very complex case," Parrish said during a press briefing Tuesday. "It's complex, it's difficult and there are a lot of what I would call a myriad of issues that are involved."
"What I would do is encourage people, as they review this case, to be patient, to take it a step at a time," he added.
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