Ex-Detroit school official gets 1 1/2 years in prison for fraud

DETROIT – A woman who retired from the Detroit school district after nearly 40 years has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for a scheme to reap nearly $1.3 million for tutoring services that weren’t provided.

Carolyn Starkey Darden also must serve four months in a halfway house after her release. The 72-year-old received her sentence Friday.

Darden says she served hundreds of Detroit students, but she also admits to submitting “false and exaggerated” billings over seven years.

Federal agents trying to recover money have identified nearly $1 million linked to Darden in a variety of accounts. She created tutoring companies after retiring in 2005 as director of grant development in the Detroit district.