A former education figure has pleaded guilty to a federal fraud charge, a major development in a scandal that siphoned tens of millions of dollars from the state’s education fund.

Percy Clark, the former superintendent of Indiana Virtual School and Indiana Virtual Pathways Academy, pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to a plea agreement submitted in federal court, Clark has agreed to pay a judgment of roughly $1.3 million, the amount he personally received in the scheme.

The plea marks an important step for federal prosecutors who say there’s a broader conspiracy, masterminded by school founder Thomas Stoughton, who defrauded the Indiana Department of Education of $44.6 million. The indictment accused school officials of vastly inflating student enrollment numbers to illicitly secure more state funding.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors have agreed to drop the remaining 18 counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of money laundering against Clark. If the deal is accepted by the court, Clark will face 60 months of probation, with the first 24 months to be served in home confinement without electronic monitoring.

While Clark’s plea resolves his criminal liability, it represents just a fraction of the taxpayer funds state officials are fighting to reclaim. In a separate and ongoing civil lawsuit, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is pursuing a much larger sum, alleging the fraud committed by the schools’ operators totals $154 million.

The two virtual schools closed abruptly in 2019.