On May 29, 2026, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts to 24 months in federal prison after Roberts pleaded guilty to false statement for employment and illegal alien in possession of a firearm.

Roberts, 55, will be deported to Guyana following his release from prison. Court documents reveal that Roberts falsely claimed U.S. citizenship on employment paperwork related to his position at Des Moines Public Schools in June 2023. He was not and has never been a U.S. citizen.

Additionally, according to court records, Roberts possessed multiple firearms in September 2025 while knowingly being unlawfully present in the United States. At that time, he was driving with a loaded Glock pistol and had three additional firearms at his residence, including a loaded pistol, rifle, and shotgun.

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. ICE arrested him in September 2025 after identifying him as a Guyana national with no work authorization.

The sentence includes approximately eight months of credit for time already served, and Roberts’ attorney did not plan to appeal the decision.