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A British accent can get you a long way in America and, as Yolande Beckles proves, it can even provide a cover for being a notorious fraudster.  Pirate Wires has published an article on Beckles, a British education consultant who in recent years has become increasingly influential in California policymaking circles, as well as president of a nonprofit, the National Association of African American Parents and Youth (NAAAPY). What wonks in America hadn’t apparently checked was that she had been involved in multiple scams and financial scandals in her home nation, which were reported on in the press well over a decade ago.

Beckles was the star of a 2006 BBC documentary, Don’t Mess with Miss Beckles, in which she attempted to improve the performance of disaffected teenagers in London. One of the students involved later claimed to have been “manipulated” by the programme and refused to speak to Beckles again. A year later, in 2007, journalists found that her various defunct businesses were levied with 19 court judgments and £70,000 in fines.

Yet, since fleeing to Los Angeles almost 20 years ago, Beckles has become a darling of the West Coast establishment, and is set to co-host a session at Stanford University next month, where she is considered a maths education specialist. Former employees who had to cover her debts will no doubt disagree that she has a head for figures…