The FBI served search warrants at the San Pedro home and the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters office of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on Wednesday morning. An additional raid at a home in Florida is also tied to the investigation, sources say.
Federal officials served the warrants as part of an ongoing investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe. The nature of the investigation and what allegations were being examined was not immediately clear.
Multiple sources, however, said that while the case remains under seal, the case is “white collar,” likely a financial crime, and is not related to immigration enforcement at all.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California told ABC7: “Law enforcement is executing a judicially approved search warrant at those locations. We have no further comment.”
The FBI served search warrants at LAUSD headquarters and the San Pedro home of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. An additional raid was also conducted in Florida. Here’s what we know.
The district released a statement late Wednesday morning, saying it’s cooperating with the investigation.
“We have been informed of law enforcement activity at Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters and at the home of the Superintendent. The District is cooperating with the investigation and we do not have further information at this time.”
In a brief statement provided to ABC7, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s office said: “LAUSD is an independent body not governed by the City of Los Angeles. The Mayor’s Office has no information about this.”
Carvalho’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC7.
Raid at LAUSD headquarters
The FBI confirmed that its agents served two search warrants on Wednesday morning, but the warrants are sealed, so the bureau can’t discuss the nature of the investigation. One of those warrants was served at Carvalho’s office in the downtown Los Angeles LAUSD headquarters.
The U.S. Attorney’s office also confirmed the raid at the school district building, but said nothing else about the motive for the search.
The raid didn’t involve armored vehicles or doors being busted in. Instead, about two dozen federal agents wearing blue jackets with “FBI” written on the back went inside, got what they were there for and left pretty quickly.
Additional search in Florida
Eyewitness News learned the FBI conducted an additional raid at a home in Southwest Ranches near Miami on Wednesday. The bureau said it was related to the raids in Los Angeles.
Carvalho was the superintendent for the Miami-Dade school district for well over a decade before moving to California.
FBI agents descend on superintendent’s home
FBI agents wearing blue raid jackets and carrying cardboard boxes were seen at Carvalho’s San Pedro home on S. Parker Street, along with several news reporters and photographers who were kept at bay across the street.
Neighbors said they counted over 20 FBI agents in unmarked vehicles at the home. It’s unclear what they took during the search warrant.
Sources told ABC News that the allegations, while under court seal, are not violent in nature, and the search warrant was conducted quickly.
Sources briefed on the investigation say that despite neighbors reporting seeing someone in handcuffs, no one was arrested during the raids, and there is no indication that agents ransacked the home.
After federal agents cleared out of the neighborhood, ABC7 knocked on Carvalho’s front door, hoping to speak with him. He did not answer, and there was no sign of him at the home on Wednesday.
Neighbors speak out
Neighbors told Eyewitness News they were alarmed when the operation at the superintendent’s home began around 6 a.m. John Schafer described seeing multiple officers with their guns drawn, pointing at the Carvalho home.
“I’m thinking, ‘Well, maybe there was an intruder,'” he said. “Yeah, it was alarming that the guy in there, and again, they’re telling everybody to stay in the house. So I said, ‘Hell, I’d better stay in the house.’ You don’t know what’s going on. So I’m staying in the house.”
Multiple neighbors said they also saw a man placed in handcuffs. Eyewitness News is working to confirm whether that individual was Carvalho. Sources say no one was arrested at the scene.
Meanwhile, individuals who identified themselves as LAUSD employees were also at the superintendent’s home and said they’re working to get their questions answered.
The FBI on Wednesday morning served search warrants at the Los Angeles Unified School District’s headquarters and the home of Superintendent Alberto Carvalho.
What we know about Alberto Carvalho
Carvalho has been superintendent of the nation’s second-largest school district since February 2022.
The sprawling LAUSD has more than 500,000 students and covers more than two dozen cities. His contract was recently renewed through 2030, making $440,000 a year.
Before coming to Los Angeles, Carvalho oversaw Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida’s largest school district, from 2008 to 2021, when he was credited with improving graduation rates and academic performance.
As LAUSD superintendent, Carvalho has had issues with the feds in the past.
Last year, he blasted federal immigration agents who tried to get into two elementary schools. The agents were turned away.
Just last week, the U.S. Justice Department joined the 1776 Project Foundation’s lawsuit against Carvalho and the school district, alleging LAUSD discriminates against white students. There is no evidence linking that lawsuit or Carvalho’s interaction with federal immigration enforcement to Wednesday’s raids.
Carvalho was last seen publicly on Tuesday at LAUSD headquarters, touting students’ strong academic performance and improvement on recent Advanced Placement tests.
ABC News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
