Pennsylvania attorney general files lawsuit against ComputerTraining.com
The Pennsylvania attorney general filed a civil lawsuit on Thursday against the defunct ComputerTraining.com Inc., which ran classes in Robinson and three other locations statewide, seeking at least $150,000, plus forfeited profits.
The company, based in Hunt Valley, Md., unexpectedly shut down Dec. 31, ditching 26 Pittsburgh-area students and about 125 elsewhere in Pennsylvania. They paid nearly $2 million up front for computer training, according to the complaint filed in Commonwealth Court in Harrisburg.
Chris McCann, 27, was only three weeks into ComputerTraining's six-month program in Robinson when he got the company's e-mail saying it was pulling the plug. He had borrowed all $13,500 of the tuition.
"I still can't believe this is happening," said McCann, of Tarentum, who has worked as a laborer the past four years. "I just wanted to better myself, because I didn't want to be a laborer the rest of my life." He says he hopes to resume his computer studies at another area school.
On Dec. 31, the lawsuit said, ComputerTraining e-mailed its Pennsylvania students saying the classrooms were closing immediately. The company Web site was taken down Jan. 4, and two days later displayed a statement, along with links to various states' departments of education.
ComputerTraining.com operated 23 programs in 14 states to train Microsoft systems administrators and engineers. Calls to the Maryland headquarters produced a recorded message saying the shutdown was "due to circumstances beyond our control."
A statement on its Web site blamed BB&T Corp., ComputerTraining's main financier, for freezing its line of credit "on Christmas Eve," seizing company assets and ordering ComputerTraining to "lock down all locations."
In a statement, BB&T, of Winston-Salem, N.C., said it was "disappointed" ComputerTraining blamed the bank and that "the decision to close the schools and corporate offices was made by ComputerTraining, not BB&T."
The state's lawsuit seeks civil penalties of $1,000 per violation of the state Consumer Protection Law, or $3,000 for each victim older than 60. The complaint requests the company disgorge profits made from "unfair and deceptive acts and practices" and seeks to freeze the company's assets.
Two area schools are in discussions with the state Department of Education to see if they can pick up the students, officials of each school said.
Pittsburgh Technical Institute, Oakdale, founded in 1946, offers programs that include a 12-month computer-training program. Riverhead Training Inc., Downtown, also might complete the students' computer education.
The attorney general urged affected students to contact the office's hot line at 800-441-2555 or online at www.attorneygeneral.gov. Students are advised to contact their banks immediately to halt any automatic payments to ComputerTraining.
