New Hampshire Takes Civil Action Against Nursing School
CONCORD, NH — The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office has filed a civil enforcement action in Merrimack County Superior Court against a nursing school due to consumer protection act violations.
An injunction was filed against Trigram Education Partners, out of New Haven, Connecticut, for violating the act by "engaging in unfair and deceptive acts and practices" at its school in Manchester, American School of Nursing and Medical Careers. The action comes after the New Hampshire Department of Education issued an emergency suspension of its license to operate its school last month. The attorney general's office said between August and December 2020, Trigram "repeatedly deceived students about the school’s loss of accreditation, loss of higher education bond, and eviction from its campus for failure to pay rent."
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State investigators also accused the company of telling students they would receive refunds if they chose to withdraw from the program. Instead, the state said, "Trigram issued a bill for payment to at least one student rather than the promised refund." The company reportedly told another student it did not have the "financial ability to pay refunds."
The New Hampshire Board of Nursing ordered a suspension of the school's license in October 2020. The education department has been investigating the school since 2019 and received several complaints about its activities. Investigators are seeking restitution for students, injunctive relief, civil penalties, and attorney's fees in this civil action.
According to the school, it stopped accepting students in October after being notified by the nursing board that its program was suspended.
"We had presumed that the suspension may have been related to COVID-19 due to the wording that was used in their suspension notice," the company said in a note online. "However, the notice of hearing related to concerns the board had as a result of the recent Change of Ownership."
Trigram plans to challenge the decision and is "confident in their ability to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the Board of Nursing standards."
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This article originally appeared on the Concord Patch
