Sentencing Set in Flint Substitute Teacher Scam
In the 2003 movie School of Rock, actor Jack Black’s character Dewey Finn is an out of work Rocker who needs money. He decides to pose as his roommate, Ned Schneebly, who is a substitute teacher, and work at a private school where he teaches all of his students about music and converts them into a young rock band. Of course, he is found out, and of course he is fired and the police are called. But in true Hollywood fashion, the consequences end there and everyone seems content with that.
Real life, however, is not quite so simple. In a current case taking place in Flint, a somewhat similar substitute teacher switch-up has resulted in criminal charges and could very likely end with someone, or possibly two someones, going to jail.
According to the Waterford Township police, they were recently called to Riverside Elementary School, where it was claimed that a woman was impersonating a substitute teacher. Apparently the school liaison officer requested identity documentation when confronting the teacher, and was given the proof of identity for 44-year-old Donna Farley, who had been hired as a substitute teacher by the school.
Which would have been great, if the person presenting the documents was in fact Donna Farley. But it wasn’t. The person posing as Farley was actually 24-year-old Dayonlynn Bell, who is Farley’s daughter.
She was taken to the police station for questioning, where she admitted that she and her mother had come up with the plan for her to teach in her mother’s place that day. According to her explanation, Farley had an appointment that she didn’t want to miss, but also didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to earn a little extra cash, and so her daughter had hoped to take her place.
Both women were arrested and held at the Oakland County Jail. They were both charged with False Pretenses with Intent to Defraud under $200, which is a misdemeanor under Michigan law punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a possible fine of up to $500.
Since then, both women have pled no contest to the charge in the 51st District Court and are both scheduled to return to court on March 16th for sentencing. Neither one has any kind of prior criminal history.