Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Haleck Enterprises has terminated, effective later this month, Argosy University’s lease of the ground floor of the Ottoville Professional Building, the site of the American Samoa branch of Argosy Hawaii, which officially shut down last Friday.

According to filings with the federal court in Cleveland, Ohio — which is overseeing a complaint against Argosy University and other institutions owned by California-based Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH) LLC and under court Receivership — there is a possible buyer for Argosy Hawaii, which had campuses in Honolulu as well as Maui Island.

When the two-story Ottoville Professional Building was opened March last year, Argosy moved into the ground floor, as the university sought to expand its degree programs serving local students, many of them ASG employees including teachers — who wanted to remain on island to continue their education while still employed.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Haleck Enterprises president Avamua Dave Haleck said last Friday that Argosy continues to occupy the ground floor of the Ottoville Professional Building.

“Like other landlords or lessors, Haleck Enterprises has not been paid its rents for several months,” he explained. “We have now terminated our lease with Argosy as of March 30 — giving time to Argosy staff and students to wrap up what they need to do.”

“We are saddened that this situation has happened to Argosy as the school provided needed academic possibilities for our local students whom wish to remain on Island,” Avamua continued.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, federal court-appointed Receiver, Mark E. Dottore confirmed over the weekend that “Argosy University, Hawaii has closed. We have worked day and night since the institution entered into receivership under Dream Center Education Holdings to find the best path forward for students.”

“We are extremely disappointed with this outcome but continue to provide services to students to help them transition to one of the dozens of higher education institutions offering assistance to them or, where they choose to do so, to apply for student loan discharge,” he said.

Last Thursday, Dottore filed an updated status report with the court on Argosy and Arts Institutes (AI) campuses under Receivership. The report stated among other things that an offer to acquire Argosy Hawaii has been made by “Dr. Evans, original founder” of the Hawai’i school.

An interesting footnote in the motion, showed that Argosy’s American Samoa location is not a US Department of Education (USDOE) Title IV financial aid school. “The location was added to Argosy University change in ownership (CIO) application in March 2017 but was not approved,” it says.

Dottore didn’t provide an answer over the weekend to a Samoa News request for comments on how students taking degree programs at the American Samoa location applied for Title IV financial aid.

In the status report, the Receiver said that once Argosy has transitioned and/ or closed, the Receivership will complete the transactions involving Argosy Hawaii and two AI campuses on the US mainland. “Those campuses will be funded by their new buyers,” it says.

“Once closed, Argosy will leave behind substantial unpaid liabilities,” the report said, noting that the USDOE had terminated on Feb. 27th Title IV funding for Argosy. Among the liabilities is $16 million in owed student stipends, according to court documents.

Other documents filed by the Receiver, deals with landlords for Argosy and AI campuses. The two schools were tenants at 57 locations across the US mainland, Hawaii, and American Samoa, according to the report, which notes that at each of the locations, Argosy and AI were in default of rent payment, with some for over four months.

The 4-page landlord report includes the list of 28 landlords — several of them have pending cases in state courts against Argosy for past due rent as well as eviction lawsuits. The landlord list shows two American Samoa locations for Argosy - the Ottoville Professional Building, where the lease was due to expire Mar. 14, 2023 and Pago Plaza with a lease expiring Apr. 30, 2019.