Ex-Santee schools official gets prison for kickback scheme

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge in Lincoln has sentenced a former Santee Community Schools superintendent and Iowa resident to two years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds.

Federal prosecutors say 63-year-old Paul Sellon, of Hamburg, was sentenced Wednesday and ordered to pay $314,121 in restitution. Sellon had earlier pleaded guilty to theft of government money.

Sellon contracted with an educational consulting business, paying it $683,000 in funds from an annual school improvement grant. But prosecutors say he demanded a kickback of nearly half of the grant money as a pre-condition to being hired in Santee.

Sellon was the superintendent of Santee Community Schools from 2010 to 2014.