Husband, wife accused of using bogus credentials to teach in Johnston schools

Ivette Serrano Hughes, 45, was charged Wednesday with obtaining property by false pretense and was released upon posting bond. She resigned from Four Oaks Middle School before Johnston County Schools could fire her, officials said.

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Authorities said Torains Hughes has felony convictions in other states.

The school district said officials began investigating the second case "based on a close connection with a previous case of falsified employment credentials."

"The Human Resources Department takes very seriously the application process for all individuals interested in employment with the school system," district officials said in a statement. "Our HR team constantly reviews its processes and procedures for employment. This includes evaluation of the work of our third-party contractors who conduct background checks. Our document verification processes have been revised to address the apparent falsifications we faced in these cases."

The district processed about 1,500 employment applications during the 2018-19 school year, officials said.

"Everyone should go through everything possible, checking your credentials and your background to make sure who you say you are you are," one Four Oaks resident said.

Johnston County Schools officials have notified the state Department of Public Instruction and a district in another state where Ivette Hughes previously worked about her false credentials.

"We've got to get a handle on this because our children are our future," another resident said.

School officials also said they have revised their current procedures to help stop this from happening again.