A former chief business official of the Stockton Unified School District (SUSD) is suing the district and several other parties, claiming that false allegations have damaged her reputation and interfered with her role as a witness in a federal investigation into the district's finances.
The lawsuit, filed on August 5 in San Joaquin County Superior Court, identifies the plaintiff as "Jane Roe" and seeks damages exceeding $35,000. Roe is being represented by Lodi-based attorney Mark Bowman.
The lawsuit names SUSD, Interim Chief Business Official Joann Juarez, BAC Community Bank, and BAC's Chief Commercial Banking Officer Eddie Lira as defendants. Roe's claims include defamation, emotional distress, and interference with contractual relations.
Roe was employed as a fiscal expert by the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) in 2023 after previously working for Stockton Unified. The lawsuit alleges that in October 2023, Lira falsely claimed that Roe was on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, a registry for individuals prohibited from doing business in the U.S. due to national security concerns. This claim allegedly led to Roe's termination from SJCOE.
According to the lawsuit, Roe has never appeared on the SDN list. She contends that the false accusations were part of an effort to undermine her ability to serve as a witness in the ongoing federal investigation into SUSD's financial practices. The investigation, initiated by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice, focuses on the alleged mismanagement of $7.3 million in district funds.
The investigation into SUSD was launched after a report from the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) revealed evidence of potential fraud between 2019 and 2022. Roe's lawsuit claims the actions of the defendants were intended to "quash" her ability to provide information relevant to the investigation.
A case management conference for the lawsuit is scheduled for February 3, 2025, in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
