Lausd Superintendent Alberto Carvalho: lausd superintendent alberto carvalho's home and office searched in apparent AI chatbot probe
Federal agents executed search warrants at the San Pedro home and the downtown Los Angeles headquarters office of lausd superintendent alberto carvalho on Wednesday morning, part of an investigation that appears tied to an AI company that developed a chatbot for the district. The warrants are sealed and investigators have provided few public details, but searches in Florida were also carried out and officials say the matter appears to involve financial issues.
Search warrants executed at San Pedro home and LAUSD headquarters
FBI agents served two search warrants Wednesday morning at Carvalho's San Pedro residence on S. Parker Street and at his office inside the LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. The bureau confirmed that agents served the warrants but said the warrants are sealed and it could not discuss the nature of the probe. Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesperson for the U. S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, confirmed that law enforcement was "executing a judicially approved search warrant" at Carvalho's home and at the LAUSD headquarters and also confirmed a search in Florida, declining to comment further.
How the raids unfolded on S. Parker Street and at headquarters
The operation did not involve armored vehicles or doors being busted. Eyewitness accounts described roughly two dozen federal agents wearing blue jackets with "FBI" on the back entering the district building, leaving quickly after collecting material. At Carvalho's San Pedro home, agents in blue raid jackets were seen carrying cardboard boxes while reporters and photographers were kept across the street. Neighbors counted more than 20 FBI agents in unmarked vehicles; it is unclear in the provided context what, if anything, was seized during the searches.
Florida search in Southwest Ranches connected to AllHere and Debra Kerr
Agents also searched a residence in Southwest Ranches in Broward County, Florida, in connection with the investigation, an FBI spokesman in Miami said. Public records show that the Florida property is linked to an individual who worked with the AI company AllHere and list Debra Kerr as the owner. Property records and reporting indicate the home belongs to Kerr; attempts to contact her were unsuccessful. Kerr is described in public records as a salesperson whose clients included AllHere and as a consultant; she has claimed in court documents that AllHere owes her $630, 000.
Probe appears tied to AllHere, its founder and the withdrawn chatbot "Ed"
Investigators are reportedly focused on AllHere, a failed AI company that developed an LAUSD chatbot known as "Ed. " One source familiar with the matter said the probe involved AllHere and its founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, who was arrested in 2024 and charged that year with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. By the time of Smith-Griffin's arrest, the envisioned chatbot "Ed" had been withdrawn from service. Joanna Smith-Griffin has been accused of lying to investors in her role as AllHere's chief executive. Ed was an artificial intelligence tool billed by Carvalho in August 2024 as revolut unclear in the provided context.
Focus on Carvalho, not the district; officials and mayor's office statements
Law enforcement officials who requested anonymity described the focus of the federal investigation as Carvalho specifically, rather than the Los Angeles Unified School District as an institution, and characterized the matter broadly as financial in nature. Multiple people familiar with the case described it as a "white collar" matter and likely a financial crime, not an immigration enforcement action. The district said it had been informed of law enforcement activity at headquarters and at the superintendent's home and that it is cooperating with the investigation but released no further information. The office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the district is independent of the city and that the Mayor's Office had no information about the matter. Carvalho's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Carvalho's background and ties to Miami-Dade and AllHere contacts
Carvalho has served as LAUSD superintendent since February 2022, after leaving a long tenure as superintendent of the Miami‑Dade school district, where he served for well over a decade. He joined LAUSD from Miami-Dade and had been nationally recognized for academic improvements and for defying Gov. Ron DeSantis on pandemic mandates. Reporting also notes long-standing ties between Carvalho and Debra Kerr that stretch back to his time in Miami; Kerr's son, Richard, is identified in previous reporting as a former AllHere account executive who said he pitched the company to L. A. school leaders.
Federal officials declined to provide additional details, citing sealed affidavits in court. Despite neighborhood accounts of seeing someone in handcuffs, those briefed on the investigation said no arrests were made during the raids and there was no indication that agents ransacked Carvalho's home.
