Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has stepped down, nearly four months after FBI agents searched his home and office in connection with a fraud and corruption investigation.
Carvalho, who led the district for a little more than four years, submitted his resignation on Sunday and said it would take effect immediately, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“It has been a great honor to serve you,” the 61-year-old wrote in the letter obtained by the newspaper.
“Over the past four years, together, we have made historic progress — gains that belong to our students, our educators, staff and our communities.”
In the resignation letter sent to LAUSD, Carvalho said he did not want his situation to become a “distraction” for students.
“Placing students first has always guided my work,” he said.
Carvalho did not directly address the continuing FBI probe, which sources have said is tied to a corruption controversy involving a failed AI education company. LAUSD officials said they plan to release a statement later.
The former head of the nation’s second-largest school district, who earned a $440,000 salary, had been on paid leave for nearly four months.
LA Board of Education members voted on Feb. 27 by a margin of 7-0 to put him on leave.
The unanimous verdict came just two days after raids were executed at his $2.5 million San Pedro home, his office at LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, and another location in Miami tied to the probe.
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Agents armed with long rifles swooped on the San Pedro home before the Portuguese-born official and his wife Maria Florio Borgia Carvalho were handcuffed and put into the back of a car, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Cellphones, computers and paper documents were seized by agents during the search.
School board members and staffers were ordered to leave the LAUSD headquarters while agents carried out their search.
In 2024, Carvalho, the former head of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district, heavily touted an education technology company that developed an AI chatbot named “Ed” for the Los Angeles district to help students, calling it “a game changer.”
But less than three months after unveiling the technology and paying the company $3 million, the district dropped its dealings with AllHere, which collapsed into bankruptcy.
Months later, founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was charged with securities and wire fraud, along with identity theft. Carvalho was not named in this investigation.
The Florida raid happened at the home of Debra Kerr, a successful salesperson who has clients including AllHere.
Carvalho, a former Superintendent of the Year in 2014, has not been charged with any crime and the LAUSD said it was cooperating with investigators.
“Mr. Carvalho respects the rule of law and the investigative process and has always acted in the best interests of students and within the bounds of the law,” a spokesperson said.
“While the government’s investigation remains ongoing, no evidence has been presented by prosecutors supporting any allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated federal law.”
With Post wires.
