Ex-Des Moines Superintendent Gets Two Years For False Citizenship, Gun Crimes
Former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Andre Roberts was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Friday, May 30, 2026, after pleading guilty to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on employment paperwork and illegally possessing firearms.[1]
Federal immigration agents arrested Roberts on Sept. 26, 2025, after they found a loaded handgun wrapped in a towel and about $3,000 in cash in a school-issued vehicle.[1] Under his January 2026 plea agreement he acknowledged possessing four guns in total — the loaded Glock in the vehicle plus a rifle, a shotgun and another pistol recovered from his home.[1]
During his hiring, Roberts allegedly submitted a counterfeit Social Security card and falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to obtain an administrator license.[1] He had received a notice to appear before an immigration judge in October 2020 and was under a final order of removal by 2024, but he continued working in Des Moines until his 2025 arrest.
Roberts' attorneys had asked the court for probation, but the request was rejected and he is expected to be deported to Guyana after completing his federal sentence.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Friday, May 30, 2026, former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Andre Roberts was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
- Roberts pleaded guilty in January 2026 to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on employment paperwork and illegally possessing firearms while unlawfully in the United States.
- During his hiring, he allegedly submitted a counterfeit Social Security card and falsely claimed citizenship to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners to obtain an administrator license.
- ICE arrested Roberts on September 26, 2025, finding a loaded handgun wrapped in a towel and about $3,000 in cash in a school-issued vehicle.
- Under his plea agreement he acknowledged possessing four guns total: a loaded Glock in the vehicle plus a rifle, shotgun, and another pistol found at his home.
- Roberts had received a notice to appear before an immigration judge in October 2020 and was under a final order of removal by 2024, but continued working in Des Moines until his 2025 arrest.
- He is expected to be deported to Guyana after completing his sentence, and his attorneys’ request for probation was rejected by the court.
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