Federal agents raided the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday.
The FBI did not disclose the reason for the raids. However, Carvalho appears to have a long and storied history of corruption going back to before he held his current position.
The Associated Press reported that FBI agents executed search warrants at the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) headquarters and at Carvalho’s residence as part of an ongoing investigation. No charges have been filed against the superintendent.
RedState’s Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar noted on Thursday that the FBI also raided the Florida home of Debra Kerr, who has ties to Carvalho.
DEVELOPING: The raid of Alberto Carvalho's home+office looks to be related to LAUSD's failed AI chatbot scandal - and it's not just about the $3 million LAUSD wasted on it.
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) February 26, 2026
The FBI also raided the FL home of Debra Kerr, an ed tech salesperson w/longtime Carvalho ties, and who… https://t.co/Psu4alAOrc pic.twitter.com/1eSXdFGWLn
From The Los Angeles Times:
Federal authorities raided the home and office of Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday morning, the FBI confirmed.
Law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Times that the federal investigation specifically involves Carvalho. However, the precise motivation for the searches at his San Pedro home and LAUSD headquarters was not immediately clear.
FBI agents also searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, a town in Broward County, Fla., in connection with the investigation and have since cleared the scene, according to an FBI spokesman in Miami. Sources told The Times that the property is associated with Carvalho.
The FBI declined to share more information, citing the fact that the affidavits have been sealed by the court. Sources familiar with the probe said that the focus was Carvalho as opposed to the LAUSD, and that it would fall under the broad category of financial issues.
Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, confirmed Wednesday morning that law enforcement was “executing a judicially approved search warrant” at Carvalho’s home, as well as at the headquarters of LAUSD. He also confirmed a search in Florida, but declined to comment further.
Television footage showed FBI agents outside Carvalho’s home in San Pedro. A spokesperson confirmed they were serving search warrants at his residence, LAUSD headquarters, and a third location in Florida, where Debra Kerr lives.
Carvalho has faced scrutiny throughout his career. One scandal centered on his handling of a $1.57 million donation from K12 in Miami, a company that won a no-bid contract for a virtual learning platform. The Miami-Dade schools inspector general opened an investigation in 2020 into a transfer of about $1.57 million from K12 Inc. to the Foundation for New Education Initiatives, a nonprofit organization that Carvalho founded and chaired.
The contract was suspended following a faulty software rollout. The inspector general said the donation “raised some concerns” that warranted an inquiry. Carvalho defended the donation, saying it was a legal contribution meant to provide $100 gift cards for educators.
The superintendent is already facing a civil fraud lawsuit over how LAUSD handled money from California’s Proposition 28, a voter-approved measure aimed at funding new arts and music instruction. CBS Los Angeles reported that former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and parents alleged that he “defrauded the State of California and its taxpayers” by using funds to pay existing staff rather than hiring new arts teachers as the law mandates.
Beutner argued that “they should have hired more than a thousand teachers,” but claimed at least some of the money was used to boost existing teacher salaries even amid declining enrollment.