California Treasurer Fiona Ma tied to Chinese school cited in scathing audit

• California Treasurer Fiona Ma has ties to a private Chinese boarding school under scrutiny.
• Ma, who visited the school in 2023, is running for state lieutenant governor.
• The school was the subject of a scathing audit issued last month by California education officials.

Fiona Ma, California's state treasurer and a candidate for lieutenant governor, has ties to a private Chinese boarding school at the center of a scathing California county audit, according to a post that was on the school's website.

Ma told students during a 2023 visit to the school that she could help provide internships and job opportunities in California, the post said.

Pegasus California School, based in Qingdao, China, was the subject of an audit issued last month by education officials in California's Riverside County. The report found a Southern California district improperly issued diplomas to the school's students and identified potential fraud and other illegal practices. Reporting by Axel Springer's Global Reporters Network, of which Business Insider is a part, shows she visited the school, met with Chinese officials, and was featured in its marketing. The school's founder also donated to Ma's campaigns.

The audit did not accuse Ma of wrongdoing.

The audit report, which followed a 2021 Business Insider investigation and was referred to the county prosecutor and other state authorities, found "sufficient evidence" to indicate that "fraud, misappropriation of funds and/ or assets, or other illegal fiscal practices may have occurred." No one has been charged with a crime in connection with the audit.

The Treasurer's Office declined a request for an interview with Ma. In a statement, Ma confirmed her 2023 visit to Pegasus and said that she paid for the trip personally. "At the time of my visit, I was not aware of any audits, investigations, or allegations related to the school's management," she said.

Ma said she traveled to China with her late father, who wanted to make a final visit to his hometown. The school's founder invited her to visit the school while she was in the country, she said.

On the school's WeChat channel, a post promoting Ma's September 2023 visit described an upcoming discussion with the treasurer and encouraged students to seek advice from her regarding applications to California universities. The post said in Chinese that Pegasus "has received high recognition from the California government" and boasted outstanding college admissions results.

Another post that was on the school website said that Ma had visited Qingdao specifically "to inspect Qingdao Pegasus School, the only international school authorized by the California Minister of Education to be opened in mainland China."

The California Department of Education sent a cease-and-desist letter to Pegasus last month demanding that it stop claiming it was founded with the agency's support. "You are on notice that the California Department of Education is not connected to, does not approve and does not endorse Pegasus California School," the letter said.

In 2021, the California Department of Education told Business Insider that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond was not aware of the allegations surfaced in Business Insider's reporting about Pegasus. The department referred the matter to the state attorney general's office and the Fair Political Practices Commission. The commission did not pursue the matter.

Ma is a tight race against two other Democrats, former Navy JAG officer Josh Fryday and former Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, less than two months before the state's June primary.

Shortly before her 2023 China trip, Ma posted on her Instagram account that she would be on vacation.

During her Pegasus visit, Ma delivered speeches, attended a student-organized band performance, and received a gift presented by the principal, according to a recap that was posted on Pegasus' website. She told students that "if they want to intern in California, they can come to me, I will provide some internship and employment opportunities," the recap said.

"The two sides had an in-depth discussion on strengthening Sino-US economy, culture, and education," one school post said, adding that Ma hoped that Pegasus would "receive more support from the local government, highlight the unique aspects of American education, and help more and more Chinese students visit and study in the United States."

Audit finds possible evidence of fraud

Business Insider's 2021 investigation reported ties between Pegasus, the Val Verde Unified School District in Southern California, and government officials. The article revealed that top state education officials at the time, along with former leaders, worked closely with the school's founder, a California businessman named Steven Ma, to establish the school and promote it with the district and the University of California system. Fiona Ma and Steven Ma are not related.

The Riverside County Office of Education's audit found possible evidence of fraud, bribery, conflicts of interest, breaches of fiduciary duty, or violations of the Political Reform Act by various officials.

"There appears to be a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments leading to the [state's] endorsement of Pegasus and VVUSD's approval of the diploma pilot program," the report said.

Steven Ma told the Global Reporters Network in a statement that the Riverside County School Board had "wasted an inordinate amount of staff time and taxpayer dollars," conducting audits.

"I relied on experienced public officials with decades of California education leadership to evaluate the program's legitimacy at every stage. They did so and supported it," he said. "To my knowledge, no active federal investigation, nor any law enforcement investigation for that matter, exists."

While the attorney general's office declined to comment on "potential or ongoing investigations," Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, told the Global Reporters Network in an interview that "that type of conduct is of great interest to us" and that his team plans to explore the issue further.

Ma has close ties to Pegasus' founder

Steven Ma has given thousands of dollars to Fiona Ma's political campaigns over the past decade, and the two are featured together in photos on Pegasus' website and on social media. According to the Pegasus website, they have worked together on projects for over 16 years.

Fiona Ma confirmed to the Network that she knows Steven Ma. While she respects "his commitment to education," she said that she has "no involvement in his private business dealings."

Steven Ma did not respond to questions about his relationship with Fiona Ma or involvement with her campaign.

Campaign-finance disclosures show that he and his college-admissions consulting company, ThinkTank Learning, contributed over $24,000 between 2015 and 2021 to several of her campaigns, including her campaign for state treasurer in 2018, and her 2022 reelection bid.

He later gave about $13,000 for Ma's lieutenant governor campaign, around five months before her 2023 trip to China.

A photo of Steven Ma's business card, shared with the Global Reporters Network, lists him as the finance committee chair for her lieutenant governor campaign. Steve Maviglio, a consultant for Fiona Ma's campaign, said he had never heard of Steven Ma. When questioned about the finance committee chair position, he added, "It's not a paid role, I can tell you that much."

A Pegasus employee, who is listed in a 2024 school post as the chair of the Pegasus Global Parent-School Alliance, endorsed Fiona Ma's campaign in a WeChat video. The video, shared by a former Pegasus employee, featured various shots of the state treasurer on the campaign trail talking and posing with supporters, along with photos of her speaking at Pegasus and standing with Steven Ma.

"Among the three candidates for lieutenant governor was my good friend, the California treasurer for the past two terms, Fiona Ma," she said in Chinese. "As the mother of a Chinese student, when I was there on scene, I felt something else. I was thinking, our generation worked so hard to send our children abroad to study and to be exposed to a bigger world."

Sophia Cai, Melanie Mason and Rosalie Chan contributed to this report.

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