On May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts to 24 months behind bars.
Roberts pleaded guilty to false statement for employment and illegal alien in possession of a firearm. After completing his sentence, he will be deported to Guyana by ICE.
The enforcement operation that led to Roberts’ downfall began on September 26, 2025. Court documents reveal Roberts was a Guyanese national living under a final order of removal with no work authorization in the United States.
Roberts falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on employment paperwork for Des Moines Public Schools in June 2023 and has never been a citizen. On September 26, 2025, ICE arrested him after discovering he possessed a loaded Glock pistol and three additional firearms at his residence while knowingly being an illegal alien. Roberts entered the United States on a student visa in 1999 and received a final order of removal from an immigration judge in May 2024.
The sentencing included approximately eight months of credit for time already served, and Roberts’ attorney indicated no appeal was planned. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 37 months.
Roberts will be deported to Guyana after serving his federal prison term.