Gary Solomon and Thomas Vranas, co-owners of SUPES Academy who were indicted last week alongside former CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, have pleaded not guilty in an alleged multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.
The "not guilty" pleas from the two men and their two companies, the SUPES Academy and Synesi Associates, were entered in federal court on Wednesday.
Byrd-Bennett was indicted last Thursday for allegedly steering $23 million in no-bid contracts to SUPES Academy and Synesi Associates, her former employers, in exchange for $2.3 million in kickbacks. She was indicted on 20 counts of mail and wire fraud, but pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to one wire fraud charge as part of her plea agreement with prosecutors.
Solomon and Vranas face charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States.