Ex-teacher guilty in test taking scam

Former Memphis City Schools teacher Felippia Kellogg has plead guilty in federal court in Memphis to being part of a teacher certification test scheme in Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Kellogg, who resigned from Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows Elementary on Sept. 17, admitted in U.S. District Court Friday morning that she received over $4,000 over an 18-month period for taking certification tests for other teachers who were worried that they couldn't pass.

She said she received about $800 per certification Praxis test she took for other teachers who were worried they couldn't pass.

The 42-year-old teacher admitted she got involved in May 2009 after alleged ringleader Clarence Mumford, Sr., convinced her to get involved in the scam by telling her that teachers would lose their jobs in they didn't pass the required tests.

The scam dates back to 1995.

Kellogg's plea deal is the second admission of guilt federal investigators have received since Mumford's indictment.

Federal investigators said they found a copy of Kellogg's identification at the Mumford's home.

Kellogg's admission in federal court comes two days after federal prosecutors indicted 10 more people in the teacher certification test scheme. The additional defendants announced Wednesday stem from a 45-count indictment returned by a grand jury in July that charged Mumford with fraud and identity theft.

The 10 teachers indicted Sept. 19 are:

• Samuel Campbell, 38, Jackson, Miss., charged with wire fraud;
• Darcel Gardner, 34, Columbus, Miss., charged with mail fraud;
• Steve Holmes, Memphis, charged with fraud related to identification documents;
• Valerie Humphrey, 47, Oakland, Tenn., charged with wire fraud;
• Carlo McClelland, 34, Meridian, Miss., charged with mail fraud;
• Jacklyn McKinnie, 44, Memphis, charged with wire fraud and fraud related to identification documents;
• Jadice Moore, 40, Port Gibson, Miss., charged with mail fraud;
• Sarah Richard, 44, Richland, Miss., charged with wire fraud, mail fraud and fraud related to identification documents;
• Jeryl Shaw, 39, Memphis, charged with fraud related to identification documents;
• Kimberly Taylor, 36, Charleston, Miss., charged with mail fraud.

John Bowen, 63, of Memphis, pled guilty Sept. 7 to one count information charging a conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, Social Security fraud, and fraud in connection with identification documents. Bowen, a MCS substitute teacher, admitted that Mumford paid him several hundred dollars to take several tests.

He was caught at Arkansas State University taking two tests under two different names on the same day. He also claimed to have started first taking tests at the University of Memphis in the 1990s, and then branched out to other test locations in the tri-state area.

Mumford, was charged in August, along with his son, Clarence Mumford, Jr., 28, of Memphis, and Dante Dowers, 40, of Belle Glade, Fla., in a 49-count superseding indictment alleging a conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, Social Security fraud, aggravated identity theft and fraud in connection with identification documents.

Sentencing and fine information for Kellogg not presently available.

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FOX13 News reporter Tealy Devereaux contributed to this report.