A former Los Angeles Unified School District employee and a Texas tech company owner are facing felony charges in what prosecutors are calling the largest money laundering scheme in the district’s history — an alleged pay-to-play arrangement that steered more than $22 million in contracts to a single vendor over four years.
Hong “Grace” Peng, 53, of Pasadena, worked as a technical project manager for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) when prosecutors say she illegally helped direct millions of dollars in contracts to Innive, a Texas-based technology company. In return, Innive’s owner allegedly funneled more than $3 million back to her through a network of intermediaries.
According to KTLA, the scheme unfolded between 2018 and 2022 and centered on contracts for the district’s My Integrated Student Information System (MiSiS), a platform used to manage student records across the district…