FBI Executes Raids at Home and Office of Alberto Carvalho in Probe Tied to AI Chatbot Company

Federal agents served search warrants at the San Pedro home and downtown headquarters office of Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. alberto carvalho on Wednesday morning, actions that investigators say appear connected to a probe of an AI chatbot developer. The simultaneous searches — including a related search in Florida — drew attention because they targeted both the superintendent’s residence and the district’s central offices while court affidavits remain sealed.

Alberto Carvalho’s San Pedro home and LAUSD headquarters

Wake-up raids unfolded at two addresses tied to the superintendent: his San Pedro residence on S. Parker Street and an office at LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. The FBI confirmed it served two judicially approved search warrants on Wednesday morning; the warrants are sealed and agents declined to describe the nature of the inquiry. Eyewitnesses saw agents in blue jackets marked "FBI" carrying cardboard boxes, and neighbors counted more than 20 agents arriving in unmarked vehicles. Observers noted the entry did not involve armored vehicles or broken doors, the activity was quick, and there was no public indication anyone was arrested or that the home was ransacked.

Florida search at Southwest Ranches tied to AllHere consultant Debra Kerr

At the same time, agents in South Florida executed a search at a residence in Southwest Ranches in Broward County. Public records list Debra Kerr as the owner of that property and link her work to the AI company involved in the Los Angeles matter. Kerr has long worked as a consultant to companies seeking contracts with school districts, and public filings show she claimed the AI company owed her $630, 000. Local reporting also names her son, Richard, as a former account executive for the AI firm who pitched the product to L. A. school leaders. Attempts to reach Kerr were unsuccessful, and officials did not identify her as a target of the probe.

AllHere, the chatbot "Ed, " and charges against Joanna Smith-Griffin

Investigators have tied the law-enforcement activity to AllHere, the failed AI company that developed a chatbot known within LAUSD as "Ed. " Joanna Smith-Griffin, AllHere’s founder and former chief executive, was arrested in 2024 and charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft; by that point the district had withdrawn the chatbot from service. The record indicates the project had been publicly discussed by district leadership in 2024, but text in the available material about how the tool was described is unclear in the provided context.

U. S. Attorney’s Office and FBI confirm sealed warrants and limited comment

Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, confirmed that agents were executing judicially approved search warrants at Carvalho’s home and at LAUSD headquarters and that a search also took place in Florida. The FBI’s Miami office likewise confirmed the Southwest Ranches search. Officials have declined further comment, citing sealed affidavits, and the bureau has said it cannot discuss the sealed matters. People familiar with the investigation signaled the case centers on the superintendent rather than the district and indicated it falls under a broad category of financial issues.

District reaction and Carvalho’s background in Miami-Dade

LAUSD they were informed of the activity and are cooperating with investigators but would not provide more details. The Mayor’s Office of Los Angeles noted that the district is independent of city governance and stated it had no additional information. Carvalho’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Carvalho has served as LAUSD superintendent since February 2022 after a long tenure leading the Miami-Dade school system for well over a decade, where he drew attention for academic initiatives and policy decisions during the pandemic.

What makes this notable is the combination of locations and actors: two sealed warrants executed in Los Angeles, a contemporaneous search in Broward County, a connection to a failed AI vendor, and criminal charges already lodged in 2024 against that vendor’s founder. Together, those facts have prompted federal action and heightened scrutiny even as the particulars of the allegations remain under seal.