Los Angeles County prosecutors on Thursday filed felony charges against a Los Angeles Unified School District information-technology project manager and the owner of a technology vendor, alleging a multi-year pay-to-play operation that steered more than $22 million in district contracts to the vendor and kicked money back to the employee. The two defendants were identified by prosecutors as Hong “Grace” Peng and Gautham Sampath.
In a news release, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office says Peng, who served as a technical project manager for LAUSD, is charged with money laundering and having a financial interest in an official contract. Sampath, owner of the vendor Innive, faces three felony counts, including money laundering and abetting a government official to have a financial interest in an official contract. Prosecutors say an arrest warrant has been issued for Peng and an extradition warrant has been issued for Sampath, and that arraignments will be scheduled in case 26CJCF01762.
Alleged scheme focused on MiSiS work
According to prosecutors, the contracts at issue were tied to LAUSD’s student information work and related analytics for the district’s My Integrated Student Information System (MiSiS), and the arrangement ran from roughly 2018 through 2022. Innive has previously described providing analytics and MiSiS-related services to school districts, and LAUSD’s MiSiS pages show the system serves as the district’s hub for enrollment, attendance, and student records. Prosecutors say the contracts to Innive totaled more than $22 million.
DA calls it a ‘blatant abuse of public trust’
“This case involves a blatant abuse of public trust, funneling taxpayer dollars intended for students into personal coffers,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the release. Prosecutors further allege Sampath routed and laundered more than $3 million back to Peng through intermediaries. If convicted as charged, each defendant faces up to seven years in county jail. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office describes texts and payment records included in the charging documents.
Investigation status and next steps
According to the District Attorney's Office, the probe, which first came to light in April 2022, remains active and is being handled by the office’s Public Integrity Division in coordination with LAUSD’s Office of Inspector General. Prosecutors have asked organizations that contracted with Innive to contact the office and say arraignments will be set at a later date.
What the charges mean
California law strictly limits public officers and employees from participating in contracts in which they have a financial interest. Government Code Section 1090 and related guidance explain how such conflicts can void agreements and, in willful cases, lead to civil or criminal penalties. For background on the statute and enforcement, see a Government Code 1090 overview from state ethics authorities.
The filing represents one of the more significant public-corruption cases tied to LAUSD in recent years, and it is likely to draw scrutiny from school administrators, vendors, and watchdogs as the case moves toward arraignment.
