MIAMI.– Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided the residence and office of Alberto Carvalho, current Los Angeles school superintendent and former head of the Miami-Dade district, on Wednesday as part of a criminal investigation into alleged fraud and corruption.
The operation occurred simultaneously in California and Florida to collect evidence about alleged irregularities in artificial intelligence contracts and inappropriate management of public funds, according to Californian media.
The police mobilization included the search of Carvalho’s home in San Pedro, his offices at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and a property linked to former consultants in Broward County, South Florida.
Technological and financial contracts
The federal intervention would be related to the collapse of ‘Ed’, an ambitious artificial intelligence chatbot developed by the company AllHere.
The LAUSD awarded a million-dollar contract to this company, which abruptly ceased operations after facing accusations of fraud against its investors, according to investigations.
Investigators would seek to determine whether there were illicit payments or bribes during the bidding and awarding process for this technology, which promised to revolutionize personalized learning, but ended in institutional failure.
Added to this scenario is a recent lawsuit that indicates the alleged embezzlement of 76.7 million dollars.
These resources, earmarked by law exclusively for arts education, would have served to cover salaries of existing administrative and teaching staff instead of financing the hiring of new art and music instructors.
This alleged financial maneuver generated strong pressure from unions and parent groups, who demand absolute transparency in the management of the district’s assets.
Miami and Florida Trail
The operation in South Florida, specifically at a residence in Southwest Ranches linked to former collaborators of his management in Miami-Dade, suggests that the investigation would have roots in his professional past.
Carvalho led the Miami-Dade County Public Schools for fourteen years, a period in which he consolidated an image as a successful manager, although not without controversy.
During his tenure in Florida, he faced scrutiny for his relationship with the company K12 after the request for a million-dollar donation linked to an online class platform that presented critical flaws during the pandemic.
The current legal panorama also arises in a climate of high political tension between the superintendent and the federal government. Carvalho maintained a defiant stance against the White House’s immigration policies and blocked the access of immigration agents to educational facilities.
While the Los Angeles Board of Education evaluates its continuity in office in an emergency session, public opinion in Miami and California remains waiting for the Department of Justice to lift the seal of the judicial files to know the real scope of the accusations.
