The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled to meet behind closed doors Thursday afternoon, a day after authorities raided the home and office of Supt. Alberto Carvalho in what appears to be an investigation related to AllHere, a defunct company that developed a failed regional AI chatbot.
At noon Wednesday, hours after the raids began, school district officials posted a new Board of Education adjournment, with the only item on the agenda listed as “Public Employment: General Superintendent of Schools.” Also Wednesday, LAUSD officials said in a statement that they have been notified of the law enforcement activity and are cooperating with the investigation. The school district did not provide additional details.
Federal authorities also did not provide details about the investigation. But one source with knowledge of the matter told The Times that the investigation was focused on AllHere, whose founder was charged with fraud in 2024.
Along with Carvalho’s San Pedro home and LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, the FBI put the Florida address under search Wednesday morning. Public records show that the property is linked to someone who worked with AllHere.
Law enforcement sources, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, told The Times that the federal investigation involves Carvalho, who has served as LAUSD superintendent since February 2022.
Carvalho has made no public statements and could not be reached for comment.
The investigation is a major concern for LAUSD, which under Carvalho’s leadership has been trying to regroup after academic disruptions during the violence. The district recently responded forcefully to immigration attacks this year under the Trump administration that have devastated a school system with a large immigrant population.
Since arriving in Los Angeles, Carvalho has gone to great lengths to improve attendance – after a spike linked to an epidemic of chronic absenteeism. He also dealt with problems ranging from employment and crime on campuses. After several years of post-pandemic education aid, Los Angeles students have found what they call a “new high watermark,” with math and English scores rising last year across all grades tested for the second year in a row, surpassing results before the 2020 campus closure, Carvalho announced in July. The benefits are often seen as strong evidence that education is going in the right direction.
He gained national attention for his activism against immigration raids that affected students last summer, who have come out as an enemy of the Trump administration’s crackdown.
In September, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted unanimously to retain Carvalho for another four years, at an annual salary of $440,000.
But the region’s experience with AI companies became a significant obstacle during his tenure.
Carvalho had greenlit an artificial intelligence chatbot, named Ed and represented by a smiling sun, for LAUSD students, families and teachers that was quietly discontinued three months after its 2024 release. It had to answer the questions of students and parents in an accurate, useful and confidential way. Carvalho proposed “Ed” as an AI-enhanced student advisor who would be part of the Individualized Acceleration Program, or IAP, for every student. But the company behind it collapsed even before the technology was fully implemented.
On Wednesday, FBI agents searched a residence in Southwest Ranches, a town in Broward County, Fla., in connection with the investigation, according to an FBI spokesman in Miami.
According to public records, Debra Kerr, a realtor whose clients include AllHere, is listed as the owner of the Florida home. Neither the FBI nor confidential sources identified Kerr on Wednesday as a target of the investigation. Attempts to contact Kerr were unsuccessful.
Kerr, a successful consultant to recruiting firms and school districts, has a long relationship with Carvalho, going back to his time as superintendent in Miami. He worked as a consultant for AllHere and claimed in court papers that the company owed him $630,000.
The 74-year-old, an education news site, previously reported that Kerr said AllHere never paid him the commission he was owed for work closing the AllHere deal in Los Angeles. The outlet also reported that Kerr’s son, Richard, was a former AllHere account executive who told 74 he was involved in sending the company to LA school leaders.
An FBI spokesman declined to share more information, saying the affidavits were sealed by the court. Law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the focus is on Carvalho rather than LAUSD, and that it will fall under the broad category of financial problems.
Joanna Smith-Griffin, founder and former CEO of AllHere, was arrested in 2024 and charged with fraud, forgery and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded not guilty that year and was released on $350,000 bond. His lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
