Scandal-scarred LAUSD boss Alberto Carvalho missing while wife handles dirty work

While scandal-scarred LAUSD boss Alberto Carvalho remains missing from public view, unseen since federal agents raided his home, his downtown office and a Miami property tied to an FBI probe, it was his wife handling the only visible cleanup Tuesday.

The first sign of life at the couple’s upscale San Pedro home, a property worth north of $1.4 million, purchased after Carvalho decamped from Miami, wasn’t the superintendent stepping up to cameras.

It was his wife stepping up to the curb, doing the couple’s dirty work.

On Tuesday, Maria Florio Borgia Carvalho emerged in a tan sweater, dark jeans and tan flats, gripping a swollen plastic garbage bag and dragging the family trash to the street.

Inside the cloudy sack: a crushed bag of Blue Diamond almonds, a smeared serving platter and what appeared to be an empty wine bottle.

She walked past the green compost cart. Past the blue recycling bin. Then dumped it all straight into the black garbage can — an eyebrow-raising move in Los Angeles, where recycling is practically a civic commandment and the blue cart reigns supreme.

Moments later, she slipped into a black SUV parked at the curb and pulled away.

The legal storm surrounding her husband is only intensifying. New reports show that the investigation that exploded into last week’s dramatic FBI raids began more than a year ago.

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The probe was reportedly sparked by a referral from New York prosecutors working a criminal fraud case tied to AllHere, the tech startup that landed a $6 million contract with LAUSD to build an AI chatbot known as “Ed.”

The chatbot, touted by Carvalho as a breakthrough communications tool for families, was never fully deployed.

Sources familiar with the matter told The LA Times that evidence uncovered in the New York case was passed along to authorities in California — a move that ultimately triggered the searches of Carvalho’s San Pedro residence, his LAUSD headquarters office and a Miami home connected to the widening inquiry.

The Times also reported Monday that grand jury subpoenas have been issued in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, seeking records from the district’s inspector general and from the Foundation for New Education Initiatives, a nonprofit Carvalho oversaw while leading the Florida district.

AllHere’s founder, Joanna Smith-Griffin, was arrested in 2024 and charged in Manhattan federal court with securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors allege she inflated revenue figures and fabricated financial documents to secure nearly $10 million from investors and attempted to raise tens of millions more. She has pleaded not guilty.

Federal agents also executed a search of the Florida home of Debra Kerr, a salesperson whose clients included AllHere and who had professional ties to Carvalho dating back to his time in Miami.

The LAUSD Board of Education has retreated into closed session meetings multiple times since the fallout. On Friday, trustees voted 7-0 to place Carvalho on indefinite leave and elevate longtime district insider Andres Chait to acting superintendent as the district scrambles to steady itself.