March 26, 2026: Felony Charges Filed Against LAUSD Employee and Vendor Owner in Alleged $22 Million Contracting Scheme

Hong "Grace" Peng and Gautham Sampath are charged in one of the largest money laundering schemes in LAUSD history

LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) information technology employee and the owner of a technology vendor company are facing felony charges in connection with an alleged scheme that directed more than $22 million in district contracts to the vendor.

"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. "This vendor, working with an LAUSD project manager, allegedly carried out a multi-year, multi-contract pay-to-play arrangement that siphoned millions of dollars from our schools. We will not tolerate public officials who sell out their responsibilities or contractors who line their pockets by gaming the system. Both will be held fully accountable."

Hong "Grace" Peng (dob 8/24/72) of Pasadena is charged with one felony count each of money laundering and having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity. Gautham Sampath (dob 11/8/72) of Flower Mound, Tex., is charged with one felony count each of money laundering, having a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity and aiding and abetting a government official to have a financial interest in a contract or purchase made in an official capacity.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Peng and an extradition warrant has been issued for Sampath. Arraignment for both defendants will be scheduled at a later date in case 26CJCF01762.

Between 2018 and 2022, Peng, who served as a technical project manager for LAUSD, is accused of illegally participating in the awarding of contracts primarily related to the district's My Integrated Student Information System (known as MiSiS) to Innive, a company owned by Sampath. The contracts totaled more than $22 million.

Sampath is further accused of routing and laundering over $3 million back to Peng through various intermediaries.

Peng resigned from LAUSD after a search warrant related to the investigation was served at her home and her workplace in late 2022. Sampath and his company Innive currently have government contracts throughout California and across the country.

If convicted as charged, each defendant faces up to seven years in county jail.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins of the Public Integrity Division and remains under investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigation in coordination with LAUSD Office of Inspector General.

If your organization has entered into any contracts with Innive, please contact the Public Integrity Division at (213) 257-2475 or submit information through our online form at https://da.lacounty.gov/contact/email

The case first come to light in April 2022. Since that time, LAUSD's Office of Inspector General and the DA's Bureau of Investigation have been actively working on the case. Some of the text messages and payments discovered are reflected in the charging document. In this video, District Attorney Hochman discusses those texts.

The charges filed in this case are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.