Peace Garden News

Faith Dixon of Fargo, North Dakota, has pleaded guilty to three felony counts of theft by deception in Morton County Court. The charges are related to her misuse of grant funds from a program administered by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The grant was intended to support after-school programs for students affected by Covid-19 school closures.

Dixon was approved for up to $350,000 in funding for her "Faith 4 Hope" after-school program. However, concerns were raised when initial disbursements showed that most recipients of the funds were Dixon's family members. Further investigation questioned whether the after-school program was operating at all.

District Court Judge Bobbi Weiler accepted Dixon’s guilty pleas and scheduled sentencing for a later date. The state plans to recommend an 11-month felony sentence, while the defense will seek four months’ incarceration and a misdemeanor disposition. Both sides agreed that Dixon will pay $775 in court costs and serve three years of supervised probation following jail time. Restitution is expected to exceed $100,000 but will be determined at a future hearing.

Attorney General Drew Wrigley stated: “I commend the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. The DPI works hard to support strong programs for students while also making sure public dollars are spent responsibly and with accountability. We all want to ensure the money is being used to benefit children who participate in after-school programs, and this criminal prosecution should serve as a deterrent to others who might try to use these funds unlawfully.”

The case was investigated by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and the State Bureau of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Jeremy Ensrud from the Office of Attorney General.