NEW YORK – The founder of an artificial intelligence company that provided a chatbot to school districts in Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta to create lesson plans for students was arrested Tuesday on fraud charges, accused of spending student funds invest in herself as her company. proceed to bankruptcy.
Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was arrested in her home state and charged with securities fraud and wire fraud, as well as identity theft.
He founded ALLHere Education Inc., an artificial intelligence technology company that created “Ed,” the chatbot. The Los Angeles Unified School District was among those that used the product for a time before it closed, citing the financial collapse of the Smith-Griffin company.
Officials say the company’s products have also been used in other major school districts, including New York City and Atlanta.
A lawsuit unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court accused Smith-Griffin of making false statements to investors that allowed him to illegally collect millions of dollars from them since 2020.
He says he used some of the money he fraudulently obtained from investors to put a down payment on his home in North Carolina and pay for his wedding. After the company collapsed and laid off workers, it entered bankruptcy proceedings and a trustee took over its finances, authorities said.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement that she “perpetrated a deliberate and calculated scheme to defraud investors in AllHere Education, Inc., depleting the company’s finances to the tune of millions of dollars.” received under false pretenses. “
It was not immediately clear who would represent him at an afternoon court appearance in North Carolina.
James E. Dennehy, director of the FBI’s New York office, said she misrepresented how she was getting started and “posed as a financial adviser to keep the scheme going once it collapsed.” -to find an agreement.”
He said his “prioritization of self-esteem over personal expenses” over business needs damaged the ability to improve learning environments in key school districts, according to the statement.
2024-11-20 03:54:00
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1. How did you first get involved with the development of AI-based education technology? Could you share some of the challenges you faced in bringing your product to market?
2. Can you explain your chatbot’s role in assisting teachers and students during remote learning? How did it differentiate itself from other similar products in the market?
3. What were some of the factors that led to the downfall of your company, ALLHere Education Inc.? How did you manage the company’s finances and communicate with investors during this time?
4. The lawsuit alleges that you made false statements to investors regarding the company’s financial health. Can you provide your perspective on these accusations, and how you believe they may have impacted investor confidence in the company?
5. As the founder of a startup, what strategies did you employ to maintain credibility with key stakeholders like school districts and investors? What lessons can other entrepreneurs learn from the challenges you faced?
6. In light of the discussions surrounding privacy and AI-based tools in education, how did you ensure that your chatbot complied with relevant regulations and safeguarded student data?
7. What are your thoughts on the role of AI in transforming the education landscape, and how can we address potential ethical concerns related to its use in classrooms?
