The story of the Black CEO charged with defrauding investors continues to unfold. As The Root previously reported, Joanna Smith-Griffin, founder of AI startup AllHere Education, was arrested in North Carolina last week. She was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft, with prosecutors alleging that she “embezzled corporate funds for her own benefit,” including paying for her wedding.
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Now, the photos from the lavish wedding have been found by content creators online. The wedding-themed TikTok account @relivesocial found the photos from Smith-Griffin’s wedding, which allegedly was a multi-million dollar celebration held at The Moore Building in Miami. See the video below.
As we reported, Smith-Griffin’s AllHere created the “Ed” AI chatbot, an “educational friend designed to help students reach their limitless potential,”which was used by some pretty big school districts like the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Smith-Griffin “orchestrated a deliberate and calculated scheme to deceive investors in AllHere Education, Inc., inflating the company’s financials to secure millions of dollars under false pretenses,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York claimed. “The law does not turn a blind eye to those who allegedly distort financial realities for personal gain.”
AllHere collapsed before these charges were filed, as we reported, filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy and laying off workers.
Plenty of people took to the comments of the TikTok with their thoughts on the lavish wedding and Smith-Griffin’s alleged actions. One user wrote, “all this for a wedding?! insane,” and another added, “now girl why would you do that.”
Another shared similar sentiments: “do people not be scared of going to jail?” As we reported, the charges carry “more than 40 years of potential incarceration.”
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