Not sure if this is old: From AOPA.
FLORIDA FLIGHT SCHOOL UNDER INVESTIGATION
The Florida Attorney General's office has confirmed that it is investigating the TAB Express International flight school in Deland, Florida, which closed suddenly in mid-June, stranding students. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Charlie Christ said 40 to 50 students from as far away as Japan lost up to $100,000 each, although newspaper accounts say 80 students were affected. Students were required to pay all the funds at the beginning of their training. The Orlando Sentinel reported the school used the Ohio-based Key Bank to make loans to the students. When the bank cut off loan funds, the school's key source of funding was lost, the newspaper said. "The flight school said it had an airline and that if students flew for it for two years their loans would be repaid, but they didn't have an airline," said the spokeswoman for the attorney general. Highway billboards and signs on public buses indicate that TAB Express operates flights from Daytona Beach. However, an airport official in Daytona Beach said that while the company rents ticket-counter space with the words "TAB Express" on a sign, it never operated flights from there. AOPA Pilot has in the past offered tips on choosing a flight school.
----
A few years back, a school here in Orlando called Airline Training Academy pulled the same stunt. I'm alway amazed that students will give 50K-100K of money up front to somebody else, then trust that party to deliver.
FLORIDA FLIGHT SCHOOL UNDER INVESTIGATION
The Florida Attorney General's office has confirmed that it is investigating the TAB Express International flight school in Deland, Florida, which closed suddenly in mid-June, stranding students. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Charlie Christ said 40 to 50 students from as far away as Japan lost up to $100,000 each, although newspaper accounts say 80 students were affected. Students were required to pay all the funds at the beginning of their training. The Orlando Sentinel reported the school used the Ohio-based Key Bank to make loans to the students. When the bank cut off loan funds, the school's key source of funding was lost, the newspaper said. "The flight school said it had an airline and that if students flew for it for two years their loans would be repaid, but they didn't have an airline," said the spokeswoman for the attorney general. Highway billboards and signs on public buses indicate that TAB Express operates flights from Daytona Beach. However, an airport official in Daytona Beach said that while the company rents ticket-counter space with the words "TAB Express" on a sign, it never operated flights from there. AOPA Pilot has in the past offered tips on choosing a flight school.
----
A few years back, a school here in Orlando called Airline Training Academy pulled the same stunt. I'm alway amazed that students will give 50K-100K of money up front to somebody else, then trust that party to deliver.
