Bird Marella attorney Ariel Neuman spoke with The Associated Press regarding the recent FBI seizure of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s iPad documents.
The seizure is part of a federal grand jury probe pertaining to LAUSD’s $1 billion iPad program, aimed to provide 21st century learning devices to all of the district’s students.
The program was unanimously approved by the school board in 2013, but issues later arose when emails were disclosed between then-Superintendent John Deasy and vendors Apple and Pearson before contracts were put to bid. While unclear what exactly the FBI is investigating, it’s speculated by legal experts that the focus is on Deasy’s relationship with Apple and Pearson, and the use of construction bond proceeds to spend money on a short-term device purchase.
Mr. Neuman added, “If someone doesn’t disclose a relationship they have with Apple, those could be material omissions that could lead to a wire or mail fraud case.”
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