Jesse Marks, a 65-year-old resident of Rush, Kentucky, was sentenced on November 13, 2025, to five years of federal probation with one year and six months on home detention. He was also ordered to pay $3,448,571.85 in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud involving Boone County Schools.
According to court documents and statements presented in court, Marks owned and operated Rush Enterprises. In November 2019, he was approached by Michael David Barker about supplying custodial and janitorial products to Boone County Schools. The supplies included hand soap, trash can liners, facemasks, face shields, and hand sanitizer.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools received additional funding from the government for health and safety measures. Around March 2020 until December 2023, Marks admitted that he worked with Barker—who served as the maintenance director for Boone County Schools—to submit fraudulent invoices that inflated the number of products delivered. The school board relied on these invoices when issuing payments via the United States Postal Service.
Marks estimated that roughly 80 percent of all payments made by Boone County Schools to his company were for goods never delivered. He stated that he gave at least half of the profits from this scheme to Barker after deducting costs for actual deliveries. The checks from Boone County Schools were deposited into Rush Enterprises’ account; Marks then wrote himself checks which he cashed at various banks before delivering cash to Barker in manila envelopes.
Michael David Barker, age 48 and from Foster, West Virginia, had previously been sentenced on November 10, 2025. He received two years and nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and was also ordered to pay $3,448,571.85 in restitution after admitting his role in the conspiracy while employed as maintenance director.
“Justice prevailed due to the tremendous teamwork of our federal and state law enforcement agencies,” United States Attorney Moore Capito said. “These two defendants enriched themselves by stealing millions of dollars from a public school system in our southern coalfields during a national emergency. They stole hope from the children of Boone County and did so at the expense of taxpayers throughout West Virginia and our country. This is no longer a negotiable vice in West Virginia – it is a crime we will prosecute without mercy.”
The investigation involved several agencies: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), West Virginia State Police, West Virginia State Auditor’s Office Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU), as well as assistance from the West Virginia Department of Education.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston presided over sentencing while Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price prosecuted the case.
Further details about this case are available through PACER by searching Case No. 2:25-cr-6.
