Aisha Carr Charged With Fraud, Misconduct in Office

Aisha Carr. Photo courtesy of Aisha 4 Milwaukee.

Former Milwaukee School Board Director Aisha Carr was charged with felony fraud and misconduct in office Tuesday for allegedly representing District 4 on the Milwaukee School Board of Directors without living in the district.

An investigation by the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office uncovered a long paper trail pointing to the fact that Carr was illegally representing a district she did not live in, and that she had given a false address to both the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and Milwaukee Public Schools to take her seat, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

When Carr ran for office in 2021 it was reported that she lived outside of District 4 at an address on N. 2nd Street. Carr promised to move into the district if she won. But, according to a district attorney investigator, she never did.

The same day Carr took office, she received a new drivers license from WisDot listing an address on W. Brown Street within the district she represented. But a review of voting records, utility statements and cell phone data led the DA’s office to the conclusion that Carr never moved to the home on W. Brown Street, which is owned by a donor to Carr’s 2021 campaign, whom Carr identified as her cousin.

Carr resigned her seat in May, following reports that she bugged an administration office with a recording device and news that she was being investigated by the DA’s office.

The investigation by the DA’s office used publicly available records to determine that, during her time in office, Carr never voted at a polling place within her school board district. She was voting at the Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. Martin Luther King Drive, the entire time she was in office.

Records for utilities like gas and electric and internet also showed Carr’s name was on bills for the home on N. 2nd Street until March 2023, according to the criminal complaint.

In an interview with investigators, Carr said she did move to the home on W. Brown Street after taking office and that she never paid rent there because her cousin owned the home. The owner of the home said “Carr has never lived nor had a long term stay” at the home.

The landlord of the home at N. 2nd Street also told investigators that Carr lived there until March 2023, matching the timeline that appeared in utility and cell phone records.

Carr also offered two other addresses on N. 34th street — within district 4 — that she claimed to live at. Carr told investigators she maintained the home on N. 2nd Street to conduct board business, like virtual meetings, and for campaign work.

The investigation points to Carr living outside of District 4 until March 2023. During that time she was collecting an annual salary of $18,900 and health benefits for her work on the board. 

“Carr obtained this money by lying about being able to take the District 4 position,” the criminal complaint states. “This is theft by fraud.”

The misconduct charge against her was reached by allegedly “accepting and continuing to accept” payment for the position that she was ineligible for, “which is a dishonest advantage for herself,” according to the criminal complaint.