California Treasurer Fiona Ma Accepted Thousands From Chinese School Founder Now Under Federal Fraud Investigation

A 1,000-page audit has exposed a web of fake diplomas, political favors, and campaign cash connecting California’s state treasurer to a Chinese boarding school at the center of a federal probe — just weeks before a pivotal primary election.

When California State Treasurer Fiona Ma posted on Instagram that she was going on vacation in the fall of 2023, few could have predicted that trip would become the centerpiece of one of the most troubling political corruption stories to emerge from Sacramento in years.

Ma, who is now running for lieutenant governor, didn’t just take a personal holiday. She traveled to Qingdao, China, to visit Pegasus California School — a $34,000-per-year boarding school whose founder had quietly funneled more than $30,000 into her political campaigns over the previous decade. That school is now at the heart of a bombshell 1,000-page county audit and a federal fraud investigation, raising serious questions about what California’s top financial officer knew, when she knew it, and why she said nothing.

A Web of Fake Diplomas and Political Favors

The story of Pegasus California School reads like a textbook case of what happens when government officials abandon their duty to the public in exchange for personal benefit.

Pegasus, based in Qingdao, operated under a government-approved pilot program with the Val Verde Unified School District in Riverside County, Southern California. The arrangement allowed Pegasus students — children of wealthy Chinese elites — to receive diplomas that appeared to be issued by California public schools, effectively providing a fraudulent credential designed to gain admission to the prestigious University of California system.

A scathing 1,000-page audit conducted by Riverside County officials found “a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments” tied to the program. The report identified “sufficient evidence” to indicate that “fraud, misappropriation of funds and/or assets, or other illegal fiscal practices may have occurred.” Federal prosecutors have since launched their own probe into Pegasus’s ties to California government agencies. The school’s alumni page lists numerous graduates now enrolled at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara — elite institutions that California families compete fiercely to enter through legitimate means.

The Money Trail Leads Straight to Fiona Ma

The man at the center of this scandal is Steven Ma (no relation to Fiona Ma), the founder of Pegasus and a California-based education entrepreneur who also ran a college admissions consulting firm called ThinkTank Learning. Steven Ma lived well off his education ventures — purchasing a $364,000 private plane, a $115,000 Mercedes-Benz, and a home worth more than $2.8 million in affluent Pleasanton, California, according to bankruptcy filings made after ThinkTank collapsed during COVID-19.

He also invested heavily in political access.

Campaign finance records show that Steven Ma and his company contributed more than $30,000 to Fiona Ma’s political campaigns over more than a decade. He gave $7,600 to her State Board of Equalization campaign between 2015 and 2016, $14,000 to her state treasurer campaign in 2018, and approximately $13,200 to her current lieutenant governor bid — the last batch arriving just months before her 2023 visit to his school in China.

A business card shared with reporters lists Steven Ma as the finance committee chair for Fiona Ma’s lieutenant governor campaign. When her campaign consultant was asked about this, he said he had “never heard of” Steven Ma — a claim that strains credulity given a documented financial relationship spanning nearly a decade.

A “Vacation” That Looked a Lot Like Official Business

In September 2023, Fiona Ma arrived at Pegasus California School in Qingdao. The school’s own website — before key posts were archived — made clear this was no casual drop-in.

“Fiona chose Pegasus as the only school to visit in China, which shows the California government’s recognition and attention to Pegasus,” the school boasted. A WeChat post promoted her upcoming visit to prospective students and encouraged them to seek her guidance on applying to California universities.

During the visit, Ma delivered speeches, attended student performances, and received a gift from the school’s principal. According to a recap posted on the school’s website, she told students directly: “If they want to intern in California, they can come to me, I will provide some internship and employment opportunities.”

That is not the language of a tourist. That is the language of a public official using her position to benefit a political donor’s private business.

Ma’s office confirmed the visit, stating she paid for the trip personally and was “not aware of any audits, investigations, or allegations” at the time. But Business Insider’s original investigation into Pegasus was published in 2021 — two full years before her visit — and had already been referred to the state attorney general’s office and the California Department of Education. The suggestion that California’s sitting state treasurer was unaware of a widely reported scandal involving a school whose founder had donated tens of thousands of dollars to her campaigns is difficult to accept at face value.

What This Means for California Families — and American Education Integrity

This story is not just about one politician’s questionable judgment. It strikes at something far more fundamental: the integrity of American educational credentials and the basic fairness that families across California depend on.

Every fraudulent UC diploma handed to a well-connected foreign student is a seat denied to a California kid who played by the rules, studied hard, and earned their place honestly. When government officials turn public institutions into pay-to-play operations, ordinary families pay the price.

The real scandal isn’t just the money — it’s the message it sends: that access to American institutions can be purchased, as long as you know the right people.

The California Department of Education issued a cease-and-desist letter to Pegasus last month, demanding it stop falsely claiming state endorsement. That action came years too late for the students who were displaced.

The Counterargument — and Why It Falls Short

Supporters of Fiona Ma will argue that she has not been charged with any crime, that the Riverside County audit did not directly accuse her of wrongdoing, and that political donations are a legal and routine part of campaign financing.

All of that is technically accurate.

But legal is not the same as ethical, and “not charged” is not the same as “not responsible.” Public officials are held to a higher standard — not because the law demands it, but because the public trust demands it. When a sitting state treasurer accepts tens of thousands of dollars from a donor under federal scrutiny, visits that donor’s school on what she describes as a personal vacation, and promises to funnel internship opportunities to its students, the burden falls on her to explain the appearance of impropriety — not on the public to prove criminal intent.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has stated on the record that this type of conduct is “of great interest” to his office and that his team plans to explore the matter further. That is not the language of exoneration.

Accountability Cannot Wait Until After the Election

Fiona Ma is currently in a competitive three-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, with the June 2026 election just weeks away. The timing of these revelations is not lost on voters.

No criminal charges have been filed. Investigations are ongoing. But the facts already on the record — the donations, the visit, the promises, the school’s fraudulent diploma scheme — paint a picture that demands answers before Californians cast their ballots.

When public officials use the power of their office to benefit those who fund their campaigns, that is not politics as usual. That is a betrayal of the public trust.

California’s voters deserve full transparency. California’s students deserve a level playing field. And California’s taxpayers deserve officials who put the public interest first — not the interests of foreign-connected donors who spent years buying access to the halls of state government.

The Bottom Line

The Pegasus California School scandal is about more than one politician’s ties to a questionable donor. It is about what happens when accountability breaks down — when officials entrusted to safeguard public institutions use them instead to reward the powerful and well-connected.

Every family that played by the rules deserves to know their children competed on a fair field. Every taxpayer who funds California’s universities deserves to know their investment wasn’t compromised by a pay-to-play scheme operating out of a boarding school in China.

The investigations are ongoing. The questions are mounting. And the clock is ticking.

Stay informed as this story develops. Share this article with anyone who cares about government accountability and the integrity of American education. Independent journalism depends on engaged citizens — subscribe, share, and make your voice heard at the ballot box in June.