Norristown School Defrauded Students, Must Pay $9.2M, Court Rules

A for-profit occupational school with a campus in Norristown has been ordered by a court to pay $9.2 million for defrauding students, according to attorneys representing the defendants.

Star Career Academy allegedly misrepresented the school’s surgical technology program’s accreditations, among other charges, the Greenblatt, Pierce, Engle, Funt and Flores law firm announced.

More than 1,000 current and former students of the program were represented in the class-action lawsuit, the firm said.

The Academy allegedly did not tell its students that most hospitals and other credentialing organizations no longer recognized Star’s surgical technology program, or others like it. The suit further alleged that students were specifically misled on this point.

The case, which took three years to come to court, was brought under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, lawyers said.

“This kind of corporate irresponsibility is exactly why New Jersey has a Consumer Fraud Act in the first place,” said Thomas More Marrone, an attorney on the case, in a press release. “The (victims) are honest, hard-working people who were just trying to improve their own lives while also improving the lives of others. They needed somebody to fight for them.”

Star, which is located on 2501 Monroe Blvd in Norristown, also has campuses in New Jersey and New York. Tuition for most of their programs ranges from $10,000 to $20,000.

The Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case on Monday afternoon.