HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced on Thursday that he’s seeking a court order against closed health care school Stone Academy, claiming that its owners haven’t obeyed orders to comply with an ongoing investigation.
“Stone took in millions of dollars in tuition from students who spent countless hours away from their families and jobs to become nurses and advance their careers,” Tong said in a written announcement. “Stone utterly failed them. What has happened to these students is a tragedy and I am beyond outraged on their behalf. We are bringing everything we’ve got to this investigation, and we are going to get to the bottom of this. If our office finds any wrongdoing, I will not hesitate to hold those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
Stone Academy abruptly closed its three campuses in East Hartford, Waterbury and West Haven in February, leaving more than 800 students in the dark about what comes next.
The three Stone Academy locations had low pass rates, unqualified instructors, “invalid” clinical experience opportunities and didn’t adequately record student attendance, according to a letter released Feb. 14 from the Connecticut Office of Higher Education.
Tong vowed to investigate the school. He has demanded detailed information from Stone Academy, including what tuition was paid.
The state has said it will individually look over student records to see what credits count and if they apply for loan discharges and tuition refunds. It plans to spend $200,000 to audit the school, paid for by the Student Protection Account, which is funded by quarterly payments from career schools.
Tong said he served Stone Academy’s owners, Joseph Bierbaum and Richard Scheinberg, with civil investigative demands on March 15. Tong’s request sought information on financial and legal interests, duties and responsibilities at Stone Academy and information on where records were stored. It also wanted to know how the owners made efforts to comply with state law regarding the concerns about low pass rates and non-clinical experience.
Bierbaum and Scheinberg didn’t meet the March 29 given to them, according to Tong.
He said that the school initially agreed to pay for the audit, but has “since reneged.”
Stone Academy’s lawyer, Perry Rowthorn, told News 8 that the school “has cooperated extensively with the Attorney General’s investigation, providing tens of thousands of documents.”
“We believe the Attorney General was badly misinformed by the Office of Higher Education about the causes and circumstances leading to Stone’s closure,” Rowthorn said in a written statement. “OHE bungled this matter from the beginning, misreading applicable facts and regulations, rashly requiring the school’s closure on short notice and prohibiting an orderly teach out of Stone students. OHE now threatens to conduct a misguided and improperly funded audit of transcripts to illegally disenfranchise students of their hard-earned educational credits. We urge the State of Connecticut to protect vulnerable Stone students from OHE’s unlawful deprivation of their property and help ensure that they receive access to an appropriate teach out to continue their studies.”
