The Riverside County Office of Education recently disclosed a special audit suggesting potential irregularities between a certain school district within its jurisdiction and a Chinese international private school, including fraud, misappropriation of funds, and irregular issuance of American high school diplomas.
According to the Education Office, they conducted a special audit on the Val Verde Unified School District (VVUSD) in accordance with California law, with Larson LLP examining the situation.
As of the 2025-26 school year, VVUSD had over 19,000 students. The audit was initiated due to what the Education Office described as a “troubling relationship” between the school district and an international private school in Qingdao, China, which had established a “sister school” partnership. The school’s name was not disclosed for legal reasons and referred to as “Qingdao School” in subsequent references.
Key points of the audit included investigating whether VVUSD had the legal authority to issue high school diplomas to foreign students from “Qingdao School” who were not studying in California, and examining evidence of potential fraud, fund misappropriation, conflicts of interest, and violations of fiduciary duties.
The audit report, published on the county Education Office’s website, concluded that the district had unlawfully issued diplomas without authorization, with evidence indicating potential fraud and illegal financial activities.
The investigation revealed that since 2013, a Chinese private entrepreneur established “Qingdao School” and leveraged connections with California education officials to involve them in the school’s affairs, with some officials allegedly benefiting from the school through compensation, free trips to China, and political donations.
The audit also highlighted concerns about the diplomas issued to “Qingdao School” students, stating they did not meet the criteria for honorary diplomas and raised suspicions of misappropriation of funds and other unlawful financial actions within the district.
Additionally, the audit raised questions about the attempted closer collaboration between “Qingdao School” and California universities.
The extensive report compiled by Larson LLP following their investigation in February concluded with over a thousand pages and is now available on the Riverside County Education Office’s website for further review by authorities.
Currently, notifications about the audit findings have been sent to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the California State Auditor’s Office, and the Office of the California Superintendent of Public Instruction for respective actions.
In reaction to the audit results, the Chino Valley Unified School District Board Chair Sonja Shaw termed it a “major scandal,” raising concerns about the misuse of resources meant for local students and questioning the rationale behind issuing American high school diplomas to Chinese students who have never set foot in California.
VVUSD responded to inquiries, stating their commitment to transparency and service to students, families, and the community, while emphasizing their cooperation in completing the audit related to the cooperation between Val Verde and Qingdao School from 2016 to 2020.
The California Education Department was contacted for comments on the matter but had not responded at the time of this report.