Federal agents arrived at the modest San Pedro home of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho before dawn on Wednesday and began executing a court-authorized search warrant. Hours later, the same team moved through the district’s downtown headquarters, temporarily clearing sections of the building while staff stood outside. A third site in Southwest Ranches, Florida, was also searched and cleared. Agents left the San Pedro residence carrying cardboard boxes and small suitcases, visible on local news footage.
The warrants remain sealed. Spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California confirmed only that judicially approved warrants were served and declined to discuss the underlying investigation. No arrests have been announced, and no charges have been filed.
The Los Angeles Unified School District issued a brief statement acknowledging the activity and pledging cooperation. “We have been informed of law enforcement activity at Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters and at the home of the Superintendent. The District is cooperating with the investigation.”
Carvalho has led the second-largest public school system in the country since February 2022. The board unanimously reappointed him last September. Before coming to Los Angeles, he spent 14 years as superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. A Portuguese immigrant who arrived in the United States without legal status, Carvalho has long positioned himself as a defender of immigrant families and students in large urban districts.
Law enforcement sources familiar with the matter told the Los Angeles Times the probe centers on Carvalho personally and involves financial issues tied to AllHere, the company behind a heavily promoted AI chatbot called “Ed.” LAUSD signed a contract with AllHere valued at up to $6 million over five years and ultimately paid roughly $3 million for work performed. The chatbot was billed as a breakthrough tool to reduce chronic absenteeism and improve family communication. It was unveiled with fanfare in early 2024 but never fully deployed. By July of that year, after AllHere’s founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, the project was shut down.
Carvalho had publicly denied any personal role in selecting the vendor. When Smith-Griffin was indicted, he called the allegations—if proven—a “disturbing and disappointing house of cards that deceived and victimized many across the country.” He promised to appoint a task force to examine the district’s involvement. No record exists of such a task force being formed or meeting.
The Florida property searched Wednesday belongs to an individual who worked with AllHere, according to public records. During his Miami-Dade tenure, AllHere also held a contract with that district. Carvalho has stated he had no involvement in that earlier agreement.
The episode revives earlier questions about vendor oversight in one of America’s largest and most expensive school systems. LAUSD operates on an $18.8 billion annual budget and serves more than 400,000 students. Ed-tech contracts have multiplied in recent years, often sold as quick fixes for deep-rooted problems. When those contracts collapse under fraud allegations, the scrutiny inevitably lands on the administrators who approved them.
Neighbors in San Pedro described agents moving deliberately through the quiet residential street. One resident told reporters the operation stood out for its scale. Inside LAUSD headquarters, employees learned of the search only after parts of the building were evacuated. For students and families already navigating post-pandemic recovery, the image of FBI agents at the top of the district adds another layer of uncertainty.
Carvalho has not commented publicly since the searches began. As federal investigators continue their work, the public record already shows millions of taxpayer dollars spent on a tool that never reached its intended users. Whether the probe uncovers wrongdoing or simply poor judgment, the episode highlights the stakes when those entrusted with educating children also control the purse strings for experimental programs. Answers may come slowly, but the questions are already clear.
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