U.S. FEELS SCHOOL WORKER BECAME IMPOSTOR COACH

Federal investigators said Thursday that they believe a low-level employee at the Chicago Board of Education assumed an Ohio man’s identity three years ago to teach and coach at a North Side school.

Investigators with the Department of Health and Human Services, whose jurisdiction includes Social Security fraud, said that they do not believe the man had a criminal past but that he worked for the school system “in some minor position,” taking advantage of his job to assume another man’s identity so he could teach and coach boys basketball at Near North Career Magnet High School, 1450 N. Larrabee St.

The suspected impostor did not have a college degree, which is required to take a qualifying exam, investigators said.

HHS investigators said they will talk with the U.S. attorney’s office and a decision will be made next week about charges. The suspect has not been arrested.

Allegations that the coach, who went by the name Phillip Greg “P.G.” Motley, was an impostor have come from Phillip Motley, 34, of Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb.

Motley had applied to be a teacher when he lived in Chicago four years ago. He then decided he didn’t want to teach and was transferred to Ohio by his employer, a national insurance company.

John Bettac, special agent in Columbus for the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, said his agency was investigating the alleged misuse of Motley’s Social Security number, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 5 years and a $5,000 fine.

School officials said there is an internal investigation going on and issued a statement:

“The matter regarding the allegation of Phillip Motley is currently under investigation. As is the policy of the Chicago Public Schools on matters under investigation, we have no comment.”

Police also declined to comment.

Authorities are scheduled to meet Friday with the board.

Misuse of Social Security numbers to establish false identities is a problem of immense cost to the government and the business community, authorities said. Congressional studies put the cost in fraud involving credit card debt, unpaid bank loans and unauthorized welfare payments at $24 billion annually.

The basketball coach has not been seen since Jan. 13, school officials said. A man answering the phone at the coach’s address said Motley “had moved out.”

Near North’s players thought something was suspicious when Motley abruptly left school before the second period on Jan. 13 and didn’t return for the game that afternoon against Crane High School.

“He just left without telling us anything,” said senior forward Eric Cotton.

Principal Fay Grayes met Thursday with team members to discuss the rest of the season, including a Jan. 29 trip to Detroit.

“Miss Grayes told us not to worry about anything,” said sophomore Kenneth Swayze. “She said we’d still play all the games we had scheduled and everything was going to be the same. Nothing’s going to change except for us getting a new coach.”

For Thursday’s game against Wells High School, Near North girls basketball coach Kenneth Couch took over the head-coaching duties. Marvin Williams remained as the assistant boys coach. Wells won 83-78, dropping Near North’s record to 11-6 overall and 3-2 in the Public League’s Blue-West Division.

The Motley living in Ohio said in a phone interview that he flew to Chicago on Jan. 12 and met with a board official, Maurice Bullett, the next morning. A board employee then called Near North and summoned the coach to the central offices, saying there was a discrepancy in his Social Security number, Motley said.

Motley said he saw a document on Bullett’s desk that had his signature and fingerprint, a document that should have been destroyed.

“I saw my form with my signature-it was the fingerprinting form,” Motley said. “It was my writing, my signature, except, up at the top where they ask for a middle initial, `Greg’ was printed in there. I have no middle name.

“Also, where the date was supposed to be, there was `May 16, 1991,’ written over what looked like a whiteout mark.”

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Motley was transferred in March 1991 to Ohio.

Documents no longer active before the board are supposed to be shredded, board officials said.

Last September, Motley received a letter from Social Security saying that he had worked for the Board of Education. Motley had been receiving Medicare benefits after being put on dialysis for kidney problems in 1990. Medicare patients must report all income.

He said he called the Board of Education. “They said, `In fact, our records show you’re teaching right now in Chicago.’ “

Motley said he didn’t give it much thought, allowing the federal agencies to do their investigation, until his request for an extension on his credit line was rejected in December.

He said he was told he had $1,000 in debts in Chicago. He called the Board of Education again, saying he wanted to see someone. That’s when the meeting with Bullett was arranged.

Riley Wallace, head basketball coach at the University of Hawaii, said the Near North coach had impressed him with “the care and dedication he seemed to have with his kids. He really worked hard to get them to the right colleges that they could fit in.”