California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is running for lieutenant governor, is facing questions about her ties to a China-based boarding school whose founder contributed tens of thousands of dollars to her political campaigns.
The school, Pegasus California School in Qingdao, China, was the subject of a probe completed in February by education officials in Riverside County. Investigators found that the Val Verde Unified School District had been illegally issuing diplomas to Pegasus students based in China. The audit identified what it called "a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments" that led to California's approval of a pilot program allowing wealthy Chinese students to earn a U.S. high school diploma without leaving China. The probe also found evidence of potential fraud, misappropriation of funds, and other illegal fiscal practices involving California education officials connected to both the district and the state Department of Education.
A post on the Pegasus website, now archived, shows Ma visiting the school in 2023. During the visit, she told students, parents, and teachers that she could help them secure jobs and internships in the U.S. "If they want to intern in California, they can come to me, I will provide some internship and employment opportunities," Ma was quoted as saying in the post. The school used the visit as a public relations asset, describing it as evidence of "the California government's recognition and attention to Pegasus."
The financial connections between Ma and the school's founder run back more than a decade. Steven Ma, who is unrelated to Fiona Ma, directly contributed over $13,200 to her campaigns for State Treasurer and Lieutenant Governor, according to California campaign finance records dating to 2021. His college admissions consulting firm, ThinkTank Learning Inc., contributed an additional $23,800 to her campaigns since 2010.
Fox News Digital contacted Ma multiple times for comment and also reached out to the Val Verde school district to ask whether it was aware of her 2023 visit. Neither responded. The issues around Pegasus and Val Verde are not new. Business Insider published a report in 2021 flagging the improper relationship between the school and the district. The February 2026 audit, however, represents the first formal government finding of fraud and illegal practices tied to the program.
Ma is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of California.
