Prescott College Hawaii Litigation Update

On October 31 the First Circuit Court of the State of Hawaii entered a Default Judgment Against The Prescott Group, Inc. (a now dissolved Nevada corporation which formerly did business as The Prescott College of Business & Leadership Studies). The judgment enjoins Prescott from operating an unaccredited degree granting institution. It also orders the termination of the foreign corporation registration and imposes $500,000 in civil penalties against the defunct corporation.

In addition, the judgment obligates Prescott to provide full restitution to any student or graduate who so desires. There is no formal process required. Consumers are directed to simply write Prescott and insist on a refund. Consumers can also file complaints with our office. Complaint forms are available on the internet at http://www.state.hi.us/dcca/ocp. The order requires Prescott to make the refund within twenty days of the request.

Prescott operated entirely from outside the state of Hawaii. There are no known assets within the state (or without)from which the judgment may be collected. Thus in the event Prescott refuses to pay restitution, there is little our office can do at this point. In short, this judgment makes it clear that Prescott is not authorized to issue degrees in or from the State of Hawaii or under the claimed color of Hawaii law.

In addition to the defunct corporation, the lawsuit also named Steven W. Moss individually as a defendant. The claims against Mr. Moss are still pending. We are in the process of obtaining bank account records from a Las Vegas bank account and are scheduling Mr. Moss' deposition for early December.

Anyone who desires an electronic version of the court's orders and judgments may email their request directly to me.

Jeffrey E. Brunton
Staff Attorney
Suite 801
235 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
[email protected]

 

Way to go Hawaii! I will wait to see if the $500K is ever collected.

John