Investigators are wanting into shady contracts signed by New York Metropolis Faculties Chancellor Kamar Samuels when he was a district superintendent, The Submit has realized.
The Submit revealed final week that Samuels inked a contract with non-DOE-approved vendor Sean Kreyling whereas serving as head of District 3 on the Higher West Aspect — then cut up the funds into $25,000 checks in an obvious try to evade metropolis monetary oversight.
Kreyling’s firms offered momentary foreign-language academics to metropolis colleges. He signed two $180,000 contracts with District 3, one signed by Samuels in 2023 and one other with Samuels’ former Deputy Superintendent Mariela Graham in 2024.
After Kreyling inked the 2024 deal, his staffing firm Language Studying Community inadvertently despatched a Spanish instructor into two metropolis colleges who had been banned from working for the DOE for sexual misconduct.
The incident triggered an SCI investigation, which finally discovered the college’s principals chargeable for not having correctly vetted the instructor.
However a June 2025 SCI report failed to say Samuels’ involvement, and pinned the blame on Graham, recommending she be fired. Kreyling charged SCI was overlaying up for Samuels to guard the important thing Mamdani appointee.
As a substitute of terminating Graham, Samuels promoted her to a $225,571-per-year put up because the DOE’s senior government director of technique.
Samuels earns $363,000 a yr, raking in additional than even Mayor Mamdani.
Kreyling instructed The Submit he knowledgeable SCI of the Samuels’ signed contract throughout their preliminary investigation and supplied to share all supplies then, however they by no means adopted up.
Kreyling mentioned he has spent the final week attempting to sound the alarm to Metropolis Corridor officers — together with emailing First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan and messaging Mayor Mamdani on social media — however has gotten no response.
“I had numerous hope in Mamdani, and I’m very dissatisfied,” Kreyling mentioned, “I hoped we might a minimum of come collectively on defending youngsters.”
Humiliated SCI officers lastly reached out to Kreyling Friday, and requested to see his paperwork.
“Please present all the things you suppose is related, even when it was beforehand offered to considered one of our investigators (all contracts, emails, invoices, funds from DOE, and many others.),” SCI legal professional David Casanova wrote Kreyling, in line with the message obtained by The Submit.
Casanova mentioned he would overview the paperwork and “presumably” schedule a follow-up assembly with Kreyling.
SCI officers wouldn’t verify Samuels is now beneath investigation, however high-ranking schooling sources mentioned Tweed Corridor has been at “DEFCON 1” since The Submit’s report and are reacting as if Mamdani’s handpicked colleges chief is being probed.
“They’re fully freaked out on the DOE. If SCI is asking witnesses for paperwork, meaning they’re investigating Samuels,” a Metropolis Corridor insider mentioned.
“Metropolis Corridor is scrambling, asking concerning the contract and grant funding. . . . I heard [Samuels] met together with his workforce to brush it beneath the rug. . . . he hopes this blows over and he’s not held accountable,” in line with a well-placed DOE supply.
Mamdani’s workforce allegedly instructed Samuels to “lay low,” the DOE insider mentioned.
Samuels paid Kreyling from a authorities grant his district obtained for overseas language instruction, however the chancellor prematurely terminated the contract in March 2025, data present.
The DOE has not responded to The Submit’s inquiries about what occurred to the remaining, unspent grant funds.
Manhattan-based civil and prison litigator Jason Goldman mentioned the embattled colleges chief might face prison costs.
“If there was a deliberate effort to bypass the town’s monetary safeguards, that would doubtlessly result in prison publicity from a public corruption standpoint,” Goldman defined.
Samuels might be charged with defrauding the DOE, submitting contracts that misrepresented the true nature of the transaction, and for partaking in official misconduct, he added.
Federal wire fraud costs over doable digital funds despatched to Kreyling, and emails by which he mentioned the payment-splitting scheme, might additionally end result, the lawyer mentioned.
In a single electronic mail obtained by The Submit, Samuels writes that he understands Kreyling is just not an accredited vendor and suggests a workaround.
“This might be far more than only a paperwork or ethics situation,” Goldman mentioned.
Metropolis Corridor declined to remark.
