A school board member in East Aurora allegedly funneled $2.7 million in COVID-19 relief money to an air purifier reseller and pocketed roughly $1.3 million in return — and the scheme ran for nearly two years before anyone in the system caught it.
Federal court documents, filed last week and reported by the Chicago Tribune, lay out the case against Annette Johnson, who has sat on the East Aurora School District 131 board for almost two decades. While serving as board president, Johnson allegedly accepted a payment of about $1.3 million from a reseller to a company she was working for, in exchange for using her position to push through a $2.7 million air purifier purchase. The money came from district COVID-19 relief funds — taxpayer dollars earmarked for students, not board members.
The alleged scheme ran from August 2021 to May 2023. That is 21 months. During that window, Johnson reportedly influenced fellow board members to approve the purchase and arranged a meeting between the reseller's CEO and district officials. She also failed to list the companies as a source of income on her statement of economic interest filed with Kane County, according to the complaint. In 2021 alone, Johnson was paid in excess of $7,500 in connection with her work for the companies involved.
A grand jury approved the charges in November 2025. Johnson's counsel says she intends to plead not guilty.
In a statement provided through Vision M.A.I. Consulting, Johnson said she maintains her innocence and will
