Ex-NC charter school leader accused of defrauding feds of thousands of dollars
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- Former Torchlight special-education head arrested for alleged federal fraud.
- Court records allege $9,350 taken and $4,800 attempted from Education Dept.
- Torchlight closed in 2022 after state cited financial, governance and special-ed issues.
The head of special education for a former Raleigh charter school has been charged with fraudulently trying to obtain thousands of dollars in federal education funds.
Court records show Shawntrice Andrews, 51, of Raleigh was arrested Thursday on a charge of felony obtaining property by false pretenses and felony attempt to obtain property by false pretenses. Andrews is also accused of submitting falsified documents to obtain federal education dollars for Torchlight Academy.
The arrest warrant, which was issued in August, accuses Andrews of defrauding the U.S. Department of Education of $9,350 and attempting to defraud the Education Department of $4,800. The warrant says the alleged crimes occurred in September 2020.
Torchlight was a charter school operated by Andrews’ family from 1999 to 2022. The State Board of Education revoked Torchlight’s charter in 2022 and ordered it to close for multiple reasons, including concerns about the school’s financial health, conflict of interest concerns and its handling of special-education students.
Roger W. Smith, Andrews’ attorney, declined comment Monday.
State revoked Torchlight Academy’s charter
Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules traditional public schools must follow.
Torchlight had been one of North Carolina’s oldest charter schools. It served 600 mostly Black and Hispanic elementary and middle school students, many coming from the Southeast Raleigh area.
Torchlight was managed by Don McQueen, who was the school’s executive director and Andrews’ father. Her mother, Cynthia McQueen, was the school’s principal.
Andrews was an administrator and teacher at Torchlight for 20 years, including serving as director of the exceptional children’s program.
“Renowned for never receiving a complaint and for skillfully resolving conflicts, Shawntrice also shaped faculty recruitment and school culture,” Andrews says on her website.
Andrews was accused by state education officials of altering records of some special-education students, but the school said it was due to “user error” and not malicious. According to state records, Andrews was in charge of special education in September 2020.
State education officials also raised questions about Torchlight’s use of federal funds to pay Aaron Andrews, Andrews’ husband, to clean part of the school.
In an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the state to allow them to stay open, Torchlight’s board of directors fired Andrews, her husband and her parents.
Since the school’s closure, Andrews says on her website that she “channeled her organizational talent and deep local connections into real estate and property.”
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 1:41 PM.
