The disgraced former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district was sentenced Friday to two years in prison for lying about his immigration status and illegal firearms possession.
Ian Andre Roberts, 54, a Guyanese citizen, pleaded guilty in January to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessing firearms while unlawfully in the United States.
He admitted he lied on employment paperwork to land the top position as Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent. Prosecutors alleged Roberts knowingly lacked employment authorization for nearly all of his two-decade career in urban education.
🚨 JUST IN: Former Des Moines Iowa superintendent Ian Roberts, an illegal alien, has been SENTENCED to 2 years prison and will be deported to GUYANA, SOUTH AMERICA after his time is up
GOOD RIDDANCE! 👋🏻
This man LIED about being a citizen, and also was caught illegally… pic.twitter.com/cCgpe502t2
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 29, 2026
Roberts was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, which is below the federal guidelines, and received credit for the eight months already served in custody. Prosecutors sought a three-year sentence, at the top end of the sentencing guidelines.
Upon completion of his sentence, he is expected to be deported to his native Guyana in South America, according to his attorneys.
Roberts turned on the tears while he spoke to U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger for nearly a half hour before sentencing. Roberts’ attorneys had sought probation, but the judge rejected that request, the Associated Press reported.
Due to his prominence in the Des Moines community, Roberts’ detainment by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement became one of the more notable arrests during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“Today’s sentence holds Ian Andre Roberts accountable for his criminal conduct and repeated violations of federal law,” said United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa.
His ICE arrest in September 2025 stunned the Des Moines community, even though Roberts was subject to a final removal order in 2024, according to the AP.
Underneath a floor mat in his personal vehicle, law enforcement also located a copy of the May 2025 order directing his removal from the United States to Guyana, Waterman’s office said in a news release.
“By his own admission, Roberts falsely represented himself as a United States citizen in order to obtain positions of public trust and unlawfully possessed multiple firearms,” Waterman said. “That conduct undermined the integrity of our public institutions and the legal requirements designed to protect the public.”
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Roberts lied about being a U.S. citizen on employment paperwork related to his position at the Des Moines Public Schools in June 2023. Roberts was not and has never been a U.S. citizen.
He also submitted a counterfeit Social Security card when he was hired to lead the Des Moines public school district, which serves 30,000 students, according to the AP.
The school district did not catch his fraudulent paperwork during the hiring or onboarding process. He also falsely claimed U.S. citizenship in an application to the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, which issued him a professional administrator license, prosecutors said.
Upon his arrest, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security maintained he was not legally eligible to work in the U.S. Roberts did not have work authorization except for an 18-month period between July 2018 and February 2020, prosecutors said.
Roberts was in his school-issued vehicle when ICE officers approached him, leading to his arrest on Sept. 26, 2025.
Roberts initially sped away, abandoned the vehicle, and attempted to hide before being located with the help of Iowa state troopers, Fox News Digital reported.
Authorities found a loaded Glock pistol in his vehicle, which is illegal for immigrants unlawfully present in the United States. The gun was discovered wrapped in a towel under the seat, along with approximately $3,000 in cash inside the vehicle.
Investigators also found three additional firearms at his home, including a loaded pistol, a loaded rifle and a shotgun, prosecutors said. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Roberts admitted to possessing the four guns.
The Des Moines School Board accepted the resignation of Roberts on Sept. 30, 2025, after his administrator’s license was revoked and immigration status confirmed by DHS officials.
Before joining the district, Roberts was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge in October 2020, months before his work authorization expired. He also had a final order of removal issued in 2024 but remained in the country illegally and continued to lead the Des Moines school district, according to prosecutors.
DHS previously said Roberts had a criminal history that included a narcotics possession offense and weapons charges. He is married to a U.S. citizen but was denied lawful permanent residency after officials said he failed to disclose prior arrests in his applications.
Roberts waived all of his rights to stop from being deported after serving his prison time.
Waterman’s office said after completing his prison sentence, Roberts will serve a three-year term of supervised release, which will be non-reporting if he is removed from the United States. There is no parole in the federal system.
“The Court carefully considered the facts, the applicable law, and the circumstances of the case in imposing its sentence,” Waterman added regarding the sentence. “This outcome reinforces the principle that federal law applies equally to all who violate it.”
While pleading for leniency, Roberts told the judge it did not “excuse my poor choice, my ethical lapse,” and he said he knew he had disappointed many people, including children. He expressed remorse as well as asked for a chance at redemption.
In explaining her decision, Ebinger said Roberts knowingly lied about his citizenship status to earn an “incredible position of trust” and said it was “not an isolated ethical lapse.”
