$5M Stone Academy Settlement Approved By Court

WEST HAVEN, CT — A $5 million settlement with Stone Academy and its owners received court approval this week.

The settlement, which was reached earlier this year, resolves claims filed by the state and former students involving accusations of unfair and deceptive conduct at the defunct for-profit nursing school.

“Stone Academy was a rip-off,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said in a statement. “Today, its leaders are being held accountable, and its students will see millions of dollars in compensation for the time and money they invested in an education they never received. We remain committed to the Stone students, and will continue to support them in seeking additional relief—including loan forgiveness, potential state aid, and new training—to provide every remedy possible.”

The settlement resolves all claims filed by the state arising from Stone Academy’s misconduct, including those against Career Training Specialists LLC d/b/a Stone Academy, Paier College of Art, Inc., and Joseph Bierbaum, and all claims by the Ridenhour private class action against Stone Academy, Joseph Bierbaum, and Creative Career Trust, and against the state, according to Tong.

Tong said specific compensation to individual impacted students will be determined through the private class action process. The state will not retain any of the $5 million, aside from $150,000 that will be used to help Stone students prepare for exit exams, according to Tong.

More information on the claims process for impacted students can be found here.

Stone had promised an education that would position students to become Licensed Practical Nurses in less than two years, with hands-on training from industry leaders, according to officials.

“Instead, they shuttered abruptly in February 2023, leaving student education plans in limbo and little to show for their investments in time and money,” officials wrote in a news release. “Stone lacked textbooks and experienced teachers, and did not deliver on promised and necessary clinical training. While students struggled with subpar materials in unheated classrooms, the state’s investigation revealed that Stone took in millions of dollars in revenues and continued to enroll new students into its programs.”

In addition to the $5 million cash payment, the settlement “outlines a series of measures to assist impacted students in completing their education and professional exams, including remedial programs and the potential for students to complete their studies through Griffin Hospital School of Allied Health Careers,” according to the news release.

“The Department of Public Health will end licensure investigations based solely on a nurse’s attendance at Stone Academy,” the news release states. “Further, Bierbaum will be barred from employment anywhere in higher education for five years. Should Stone Academy’s former owners and officers seek to open, own or operate any other for-profit schools in Connecticut, they must notify the Office of the Attorney General.”

In addition to the settlement relief, the Office of the Attorney General has petitioned the United States Department of Education to discharged student loan debt related to Stone Academy. The Office of the Attorney General intends to work with students in the class action to seek state legislation this session to enable additional reimbursements of out-of-pocket tuition costs incurred by Stone Academy students, as well as support to help former Stone students obtain careers in healthcare, according to the news release.