LOS ANGELES, California — A Los Angeles Unified School District employee and a technology vendor owner face felony charges in a $22 million contract scheme, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Hong “Grace” Peng, a 51-year-old from Pasadena, and Gautham Sampath, a 51-year-old from Flower Mound, Texas, are accused of directing district contracts to Sampath’s company, Innive, between 2018 and 2022. Peng, who served as a technical project manager for LAUSD, allegedly participated in awarding contracts related to the district’s My Integrated Student Information System (MiSiS) to Innive, totaling over $22 million.
Sampath is further accused of laundering over $3 million back to Peng through intermediaries. An arrest warrant has been issued for Peng, and an extradition warrant has been issued for Sampath. Both face up to seven years in county jail if convicted, according to the press release…