Digital Forensics Dispatch

Former Assistant Superintendent Facing Charges of Obstructing Federal Investigation Due to Email Deletion

April 29, 2021

Deanna Barash, who was employed as an assistant superintendent with the Northville school district in Michigan, is facing charges of obstructing a federal probe that involves a business agreement the school previously signed.

According to WZZM13.com, Barash instructed the school district to pay $45,000 to a company which provided social-emotional learning materials. Barash failed to disclose that she would be benefitting financially from the transaction, with $6,500 in up front payments from the company and a percentage of future profit.

After learning more about the deal, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office began investigating the claims made by the school district regarding Barash’s dealings. According to Patch.com, when Barash was made aware of the upcoming investigation, she deleted pertinent emails between herself and the third-party company and then lied to investigations about the deletion. Barash later admitted the emails had been deleted in an attempt to keep investigators from seeing them.

Barash has been convicted of obstructing a federal grand jury investigation which carries up to a 10-year jail term. The sentencing is set to take place on August 25^th.

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