Des Moines Public Schools has reached a settlement with Texas-based JG Consulting, the search firm the district used to hire former Superintendent Ian Roberts.
Roberts, a native of Guyana, was arrested by ICE in Sept. 2025 and was found to lack authorization to work in the U.S. at the time. It later emerged that an immigration judge had also issued an order to remove him from the country in May 2024.
According to a court filing filed on Nov. 9, the parties reached a settlement agreement, canceling all hearings. No terms of the settlement are stated in the filing. According to the filing, closing documents are due Dec. 9.
James Guerra, CEO of JG Consulting, said all parties are still finalizing the settlement and told IPR News he was not able to discuss the terms of the agreement at this time.
"All parties have agreed that the criminal actions of Mr. Roberts are for him to own, not one of us as an entity, whether its my firm, the school district or the other third party, is responsible," he said. "So all blame is being shifted to Mr. Roberts."
IPR News also reached out to DMPS for comment.
Suit followed by countersuit
A week after Roberts' arrest, the district announced it was filing a lawsuit against the search firm, claiming breach of contract and negligence. The district claimed the firm failed to properly vet candidates.
"The search firm failed in their duty to properly vet the candidates and Dr. Roberts should have never been presented as a potential superintendent," Jackie Norris, DMPS school board chair at the time, said at a school boarding meeting on Oct. 3, 2025. "JG Consulting’s contract required them to bring all known information of a positive or negative nature to the board, and since that did not happen the board will pursue aggressive legal action in accordance with the law."
The firm later filed a countersuit against the district for defamation. JG Consulting claimed it had upheld the terms of its agreement, and claimed the district's statements had harmed the firm's reputation.
Verifying immigration status of candidates was not within the scope of its agreement with the district, the firm also stated in the countersuit.
"The District has published statements that JG Consulting was somehow responsible for conducting (and failed to conduct) an I-9 or E-Verify verification of Dr. Roberts. In reality, JG Consulting is legally prohibited from conducting an I-9 or E-Verify verification on non-employees, like Dr. Roberts," the countersuit stated. "Instead, the obligation to verify immigration and work status falls squarely on Mr. Roberts’ employer, the District."
Roberts' status
In May, Roberts was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to making a false statement for employment and possessing firearms without legal status. Roberts is expected to be deported to Guyana after serving his sentence.
