Overview
- Los Angeles County prosecutors filed felony counts against Hong “Grace” Peng and Innive owner Gautham Sampath for money laundering and having a financial interest in public contracts.
- Judges issued an arrest warrant for Peng and an extradition warrant for Sampath, and bail was set at $500,000 each with arraignments still pending.
- Charging documents quote exchanges in which Peng says she is on a selection panel and “broke all law,” and discuss creating multiple companies to move money, which prosecutors say shows intent.
- From 2018 to 2022, investigators say Peng steered over $22 million in contracts tied to MiSiS, the district’s student records system, to Innive, and more than $3 million then flowed back to her through intermediaries.
- The case, opened after a 2022 inspector‑general referral, remains active as prosecutors seek information from other agencies that used Innive, and each defendant faces up to seven years in county jail if convicted.