(Des Moines, Iowa; KCCI-TV) – Federal authorities have added another charge against Ian Roberts, the former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts, already charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. Roberts was arrested and detained by ICE on Sept. 26, and he resigned from DMPS the next week.

According to court documents, he was charged Thursday with falsely claiming that he was a US citizen on an employment form. In his indictment, federal authorities wrote: He “used a false attestation on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, knowing that the said attestation was false, in that he attested he was a United States Citizen, knowing he was not in fact a United States citizen.”

DMPS hired Roberts in May 2023 and he started in July 2023. The indictment says he made the false claim on the I-9 form “on or about” June 5 that year. The Department of Homeland Security released the full criminal history of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts. Roberts’ criminal record spans decades and multiple states:

• On July 3, 1996, DHS said he was arrested in New York for criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, and possession of forged instruments.
• Then, on Nov. 13, 1998, investigators said Roberts was charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York. The charge was dismissed in 1999.
• DHS said on Nov. 1, 2012, he was ticketed in Maryland for reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding.
• On Feb. 3, 2020, Roberts was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree weapon charges. DHS did not tell KCCI what state these charges originated in.
• In November 2021, Roberts was given a citation for unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania. Documents sent to us from the Pennsylvania Game Commission state that an officer searched Roberts’ vehicle following a hunting trip. The officer said he found a rifle in a case in the back seat of the vehicle. The officer writes in the citation that there was a round in the chamber and four rounds in the magazine. Roberts pleaded guilty the following January.

Roberts’ immigration history reveals two student visas, denied green card applications, and deportation orders. He first entered the U.S. in 1994 on a B-2 tourist visa and later returned on an F-1 student visa in 1999. Despite multiple attempts to secure permanent residency, all four of his green card applications were denied.

In 2024, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed from the U.S. in absentia. Roberts’ motion to reopen the case was denied in April 2025. Roberts was arrested by ICE officers on Sept. 26, 2025, and has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.

Roberts is now in custody with the U.S. Marshals.