Culver testifies in day 5 of his own criminal trial along with character witnesses

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – How do you distinguish deception from fraud? That’s the question defense attorneys want a jury to consider in the federal case against Progressive Consulting CEO Isaac Culver.

In day five of the criminal trial, jurors got to hear from a surprise witness–Culver himself.

He’s the man being accused of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering because of his involvement in the Bibb County Schools Fraud Scandal.

In a courtroom full of his supporters on Friday, colleagues and associates testified as character witnesses on Culver’s behalf.

People who saw all he did in and around the community like Justine Dennard–founder of ‘Adopt a Role Model’

She and other witnesses like former Macon Mayor Jim Marshall described his character as “very good” and said yes when asked if they believed he was a “law-abiding” individual.

The defense called witnesses to speak to the reputation of Progressive Consulting as a company, and previous jobs they’ve done with Bibb County Schools.

Another witness recalled just how much the upgrades were needed.

They showed examples of several safety hazards within the district’s network infrastructure, including a photo of a janitorial closet with equipment and wiring in close proximity to chemical cleaning products.

Proceedings on Friday ultimately ended with testimony from the man on trial himself.

Culver detailed his experience working with former School Superintendent Romain Dallemand and his ‘demanding’ nature in rushing the NComputing deal.

He said, in his testimony, that Dallemand was fully aware that the NComputing devices would not come with what they needed to operate as computers–servers, mice, monitors, and keyboards.

Culver’s Defense Attorney John Garland then asked him why the school district’s bill was $3.7 million when the devices only cost $1.7 million.

He says that $2 million wasn’t a “mark up”. The money went toward “services and support” or what needed to happen after they were delivered.

He closed by saying he just wanted to “make a difference”.

His biggest regrets was not taking more time to “do the job right”.

He says that he never tried to deceive CompTech CEO Allen Stephen in any way, but he’s remorseful about what this situation did to their relationship.