{"id":259656,"date":"2026-05-05T20:04:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:04:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/259656\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:04:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:04:45","slug":"apopka-schools-may-be-liable-for-allegedly-fraudulent-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/259656\/","title":{"rendered":"Apopka schools\u00a0may be\u00a0liable\u00a0for allegedly fraudulent funds\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Apopka schools received and fully spent tens of thousands of dollars in donations from a Central Florida\u00a0businessman\u00a0now facing federal fraud charges, according to records provided by Orange County Public Schools\u00a0(OCPS).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Christopher Alexander Delgado, 34,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theapopkachief.com\/apopka-man-arrested-for-alleged-328m-ponzi-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering<\/a>\u00a0in connection with his company, Goliath Ventures, which federal investigators allege\u00a0operated\u00a0as a Ponzi scheme involving at least $328 million in investor funds, according to a criminal complaint.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The charges are allegations, and Delgado is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.\u00a0If convicted on all counts, Delgado faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Middle District of Florida.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As the case moves forward\u00a0\u2013\u00a0along with related bankruptcy proceedings involving Goliath Ventures\u00a0\u2013\u00a0questions have\u00a0emerged\u00a0about charitable donations made across Central Florida, including those in Apopka.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An April 3\u00a0letter provided by\u00a0OCPS\u00a0to The Apopka Chief\u00a0confirms that two Apopka campuses\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Dream Lake Elementary and Apopka High School\u00a0\u2013\u00a0received multiple donations from Goliath Ventures totaling more than $75,000.\u00a0The correspondence is in response to an inquiry from attorneys involved in the case.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to the letter, Dream Lake Elementary received a $25,000 donation on Feb. 10, 2025,\u00a0that was\u00a0directed to support\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theapopkachief.com\/op-ed-the-amazing-shake-teaches-valuable-life-skills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">the school\u2019s Amazing Shake Club<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Apopka High School received three separate donations tied to its band and cheerleading\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/theapopkachief.com\/apopka-and-wekiva-marching-bands-perform-in-london-and-louisiana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">trip to London for the city\u2019s 2026 New Year\u2019s Day parade<\/a>. Those included a $25,000 donation paid directly to the school for the cheerleading team, along with two\u00a0additional\u00a0contributions\u00a0\u2013\u00a0$25,000 and $1,000\u00a0\u2013\u00a0made through a fundraising platform supporting the trip.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll funds donated by Goliath Ventures to the schools were spent, in full, in support of the school events which formed the bases for the donations,\u201d the district\u00a0stated\u00a0in\u00a0its\u00a0letter\u00a0to attorneys.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Attached to the OCPS correspondence were documents from Goliath Ventures, including a letter and donation receipts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe the skills taught by the Amazing Shake are essential for student success, and I\u2019m happy to support your efforts,\u201d Nadia Bringas wrote in the Feb. 7 letter from Goliath Ventures. \u201cThis $25,000 donation is to be used at your discretion to best meet the club\u2019s needs.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The donations align with broader reporting that documented Delgado\u2019s philanthropic activity across Central Florida, which included contributions to youth programs, school\u00a0activities\u00a0and nonprofit organizations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u202fIn 2022,\u00a0Delgado campaigned unsuccessfully for the Orange County District 2 commission seat,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Christine_Moore\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">finishing third behind Christine Moore and Sandra Fatmi-Hall<\/a>.\u202f\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.orlandosentinel.com\/2026\/05\/01\/charities-may-be-on-hook-for-donations-from-orlando-crypto-firm-accused-in-ponzi-scheme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">According to\u00a0the\u00a0Orlando Sentinel<\/a>, records tied to multiple charities\u00a0\u2013\u00a0including those connected to OCPS\u00a0\u2013\u00a0have been subpoenaed as part of the Goliath Ventures bankruptcy case, raising the possibility that some organizations could be asked to return funds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to statements cited in\u00a0the Sentinel\u2019s reporting\u00a0on the case, funds tied to alleged Ponzi schemes can be subject to return for the benefit of victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Investigators say Delgado\u00a0solicited\u00a0investors through joint venture agreements promising consistent monthly returns from cryptocurrency strategies, while providing fabricated account updates that masked how funds were\u00a0actually handled.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Authorities allege investor funds were diverted to high-value purchases, including\u00a0multi-million-dollar residential\u00a0properties\u00a0and luxury vehicles, as well as large financial transfers that were inconsistent with the investment purposes described to clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                                                                                                <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6.png\"  class=\"multiple_authors_guest_author_avatar avatar\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\"\/>                                                                                                                                                                                                            <\/p>\n<p>Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                <a class=\"ppma-author-user_email-profile-data ppma-author-field-meta ppma-author-field-type-email\" aria-label=\"Email\" href=\"https:\/\/theapopkachief.com\/apopka-schools-may-be-liable-for-allegedly-fraudulent-funds\/mailto:tsargeant@theapopkachief.com\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apopka schools received and fully spent tens of thousands of dollars in donations from a Central Florida\u00a0businessman\u00a0now facing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-259656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}