MIAMI —The majority owner of the now defunct Dade Medical College is facing misdemeanor criminal charges related to the closing of the school.
A Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office news release says 47-year-old Ernesto Perez was arrested October 19 and charged with two counts of improper school closure.
Perez announced the closing of all six campuses of the for-profit college last October after mounting debt and scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education. Prosecutors say Perez failed to give enough notice in closing the school and left students without a plan to complete their training.
Shortly after the school’s closing last fall, Perez pleaded guilty to charges that he made over $159,000 in illegal campaign contributions.
Perez was being held without bail. Jail records didn’t list an attorney.