A former student of the now-closed Family Foundation School in New York has filed a $10 million civil lawsuit alleging a pattern of abuse, humiliation and neglect at the private boarding school.
According to the court filing, the survivor attended the institution from 2000 to 2003 and says students were subjected to extreme disciplinary measures, including being forced to dig their own graves, eat vomit and take part in “sexualised group sessions” with teachers.
The school operated in Hancock, a small village in upstate New York, before shutting down in 2014, and reportedly charged families as much as $80,000 a year.
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An extraordinary catalogue of claimed abuses
The lawsuit was filed in Brooklyn federal court and names the Argiros family, which ran the school, along with the village of Hancock, local police and other individuals and entities linked to the institution.
The complaint alleges that students were strip-searched on arrival, locked in closets and “encased” in rolled-up rugs bound with duct tape. It also says some pupils were made to eat their own vomit after being punished, while others were allegedly forced into labour that benefited the Argiros family directly.
The filing, as described by the New York Post, says the work included digging trenches, shovelling snow, cleaning animal waste and carrying out construction tasks at the family estate and private residence.
Questions linger in the village air
The survivor, who has legal permission to remain anonymous, further alleged that the school used K9 dogs to “pursue and forcibly return” students who tried to escape.
The court filing also claims that local authorities ignored complaints because of the “influence” of Michael and Cindy Argiros. It says families were misled into placing children at the institution and later encouraged to transfer legal guardianship to the Argiros family. The filing describes the school’s leadership as people with no professional licensing, clinical training or educational credentials.
A chapter marked by troubling allegations
The complaint also includes allegations of sexual abuse. The survivor said he was placed under the supervision of music teacher Paul Geer and later coerced into joining a chorus programme before being sexually abused during a trip to Toronto.
He said he reported the abuse to Mike Argiros, but no action was taken, and he was instead placed on a “work sanction", according to the filing. The survivor later testified against Geer in a 2024 federal criminal trial and that Geer was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 27 years in federal prison.
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FAQs
Q1: What is the Family Foundation School lawsuit about?
Ans: The lawsuit alleges that students at the now-closed New York boarding school were subjected to abuse, forced labour, humiliation and neglect.
Q2: Why is the former student seeking $10 million in damages?
Ans: The former student claims he suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse while attending the school between 2000 and 2003.
