Chattooga County resident and former Floyd County School System employee Derry Richardson was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday in Floyd County Superior Court.

Richardson is accused of being the mastermind behind a scheme that defrauded the Floyd County School System out of millions of dollars over several years.  Richardson, along with several of his family members, were accused of schemes that involved falsifying invoices for work that was never done and goods that were never received.

Judge Jack Niedrach took the recommendation from the Floyd County District Attorney’s office and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, followed by 20 years on probation. There’s still a question about how much restitution Richardson will be ordered to pay.

Dwayne Richardson, Jimmy Richardson, Lisa Richardson, Rodney Holder, Charles Sherman, Russell Burkhalter, Sam Tucker and Harry Bailey all entered negotiated pleas to RICO-related charges Monday morning.

Most of the defendants who pleaded guilty Monday morning were sentenced to either home confinement or probation and several will be required to pay restitution to the county schools or fines.

Derry Richardson plead guilty to the charges and will begin serving his sentence next month.