Business ProfileforCapri Institute

The following describes a government action that has been resolved by either a settlement or a decision by a court or administrative agency. If the matter is being appealed, it will be noted below.

TRENTON Nov. 8, 2023 – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs (“the Division”) announced today that a now-defunct New Jersey cosmetology school and its related entities have agreed to pay nearly $640,000 – a majority of which will be used for consumer restitution – to resolve the State’s lawsuit alleging they defrauded students and engaged in substandard business practices that financially harmed students. In a separate settlement with the State Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling (“the Board”), the school also agreed to surrender its licenses to operate in New Jersey. 

Capri Institute of Hair Design, its related corporate entities, and individuals that owned and/or operated the school’s programs at campuses in Paramus, Clifton, Kenilworth, and Brick (collectively, “Capri”) entered the settlements to resolve allegations stemming from an investigation launched after Capri abruptly shut down operations in December 2021 with less than 48 hours prior notice to its roughly 250 enrolled students. 

The investigation found that in the weeks following the shutdown, the school allegedly refused to respond to students’ questions about the closure and allegedly refused to provide students with their official transcripts or tuition refunds, making it virtually impossible for them to transfer to another cosmetology school. When Capri briefly reopened three campuses months after the initial shutdown, they allegedly failed to open the attached clinics as required, leaving students without the ability to obtain the necessary clinical hours to become licensed by the Board. The investigation also revealed that prior to the closure, the school allegedly engaged in substandard business practices that financially harmed students and failed to provide students with Board-mandated books and supplies that were included in the cost of tuition.

The Division became aware of Capri’s shutdown upon receiving a flood of complaints from students affected by the abrupt closure in December 2021. The Division launched a two-pronged investigation by its Office of Consumer Protection and its Enforcement Bureau for the professional licensing boards to determine if Capri had acted in violation of consumer protection laws or Board regulations and curriculum requirements.

That investigation led to a civil action filed by the State in Superior Court in Union County on June 3, 2022, alleging Capri and its associated entities violated the Consumer Fraud Act and advertising regulations. The State also filed a Verified Complaint before the Board the same day alleging Capri violated Board curriculum requirements by failing to provide a clinical education component at the three reopened Capri school locations and violated Board regulations by failing to comply with a Board investigative inquiry and by cancelling the bonds it was required to post with the State to operate.

The civil action was resolved by a Final Consent Judgment filed in Superior Court in Union County on November 2, 2023. Under the terms of the agreement, Capri will pay the Division nearly $640,000, up to $500,000 of which is to be allocated to consumer restitution, and the remainder to be allocated at the Division’s discretion to civil penalties, attorneys’ fees, and investigation and litigation costs. 

The Division plans to provide cash refunds for students who Capri unenrolled or who withdrew from Capri on or after the school’s December 2021 closure. Students who were able to graduate will receive partial refunds for the disruption to their education. 

Capri students who borrowed federal student loans to pay Capri and who were affected by Capri’s closure may qualify for a closed school discharge of their federal student loans. Interested students should contact their student loan servicers to apply for the closed school discharge. More information about closed school discharges of federal student loans can be found here: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/closed-school .

Students who have issues receiving closed school discharges can contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group here: : https://studentaid.gov/feedback ombudsman/disputes/prepare.