Updated at 3:11 p.m. to reflect new information.

The former superintendent of the embattled Dallas County Schools bus agency has pleaded guilty to accepting more than $3 million in bribes and kickbacks from a camera company.

Rick Sorrells admitted to receiving the payments in exchange for approving $70 million in contracts with a company that provided surveillance cameras for the agency's school buses, according to federal documents filed Monday. The indictment did not name the camera company, however, KXAS-TV (NBC5) and The Dallas Morning News have identified Force Multiplier Solutions of Louisiana as the company that supplied the equipment.

The court documents say Sorrells agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud in the corruption investigation that rocked Dallas County Schools, which was shut down by voters in November. Sorrells waived his right to a federal grand jury indictment and agreed to a sentence of no more than 10 years in prison.

Prosecutors allege that Sorrells took payments through a set of bogus companies that he and an associate of the camera firm created. The money was used to pay off Sorrells' credit card and student loan debts, among other personal expenses, prosecutors said. The government is seeking to recover a 2014 Maserati and a 2012 Porsche purchased by Sorrells, along with about $66,000 in jewelry.

"The co-conspirators created fake consulting agreements, fake invoices, a fake real estate business, fake loan documents'' to make the scheme work, according to court papers.

Lawyers for Sorrells and Force Multiplier could not be reached for comment Monday.

Sorrells retired in March 2017 from the school bus agency, which was the focus of an investigation by NBC5 into wasteful spending on equipment supplied by the company. At the time of his retirement, he was making more than $206,000 a year as superintendent. But the agency was in serious debt and teetering on the verge of bankruptcy as a result of the camera deals, which brought only "pennies on the dollar,'' according to court documents.

The camera system was expected to bring in revenue by collecting fees from motorists ticketed for driving around school bus stop arms.

The criminal transactions were concealed from the agency, its board and taxpayers who funded the school bus agency, prosecutors said.

Sorrells' indictment is the second to emerge from the federal bribery investigation. Slater Swartwood, a business associate of Force Multiplier accused of helping set up some of the fraudulent companies, struck a plea deal for money laundering in December after admitting to paying bribes.

The conspiracy involving Sorrells, Swartwood and a top executive of Force Multiplier, who has not been identified by prosecutors in court documents, spanned about seven years. In 2010, Dallas County Schools selected Force Multiplier Solutions to install cameras on its buses, even though it had submitted one of the highest bids for the project, according to prosecutors.

The Force Multiplier executive told Sorrells at one point that he was ''underpaid'' and could get extra money by doing research, prosecutors said. So Sorrells opened a fake company in a family member's name to get paid. The executive helped hide the payments by creating a fake Craigslist ad for services and instructing Sorrells to reply to it, at which point a lawyer would be his contact.

In addition to the cars, jewelry and personal debts, the money was used for personal trips and a luxury apartment in New Orleans. In October, an NBC5 investigation revealed Sorrells' use of the apartment for family and friends. The unit was next door to an apartment used by the school bus camera company, according to the building's owner.

In return for the payments, Sorrells oversaw agreements for Dallas County Schools to purchase cameras worth millions of dollars.

Last year state lawmakers became frustrated with the agency in the wake of investigative reports by NBC5 that highlighted financial and safety problems at the 171-year-old agency. Voters later decided to shut it down, and it was placed under the management of a dissolution committee through the current school year.

Taxpayers are now saddled with tens of millions of dollars in outstanding debt.

"Sorrells was a public servant as a result of his position,'' prosecutors said in court documents. "Sorrells owed a duty of honest services to the citizens of Dallas County and his employer to perform the duties and responsibilities of his office free from bias, conflicts of interest, self enrichment, self dealing, concealment, deceit, fraud, kickbacks and bribery.''

Staff writer Holly K. Hacker contributed to this report.