A lawsuit against ClassWallet — the third-party vendor that processes vouchers under the Arkansas LEARNS Act — was dismissed Monday by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
“I have been clear and consistent in communicating with the governor on this matter,” Drummond said in a statement. “I will not allow taxpayer funds and State resources to be wasted in pursuit of this meritless lawsuit.”
ClassWallet spokesperson Henry Feintuch said in a statement that ClassWallet is grateful that Drummond has confirmed that the allegations against them were “wholly without merit.”
“We have always maintained that ClassWallet, as a software vendor, had neither responsibility for, nor authority to, exercise any decision-making with respect to the Oklahoma programs,” Feintuch said.
This is the second time Drummond has dismissed a lawsuit brought against ClassWallet by the state of Oklahoma, according to an article in The Oklahoman. The company was sued by the state in 2022 after federal and state audits found that about $1.7 million in grant money meant to be used for educational purposes were instead spent on kitchen appliances, power tools, video games and other non-educational items.
The second lawsuit was filed on Jan. 29 of this year for failing to prevent education funds from being misspent.
ClassWallet officials have maintained the company did nothing wrong. Federal and state auditors said government officials, not ClassWallet, were at fault for failing to put proper guardrails in place.
