Beauty school bilking

The U.S Department of Education has recently denied recertification of—and federal financial aid payments to—23 Marinello Schools of Beauty campuses in California and Nevada, including the Chico location.

The funding cuts come after an investigation revealed the school “was knowingly requesting federal aid for students based on invalid high school diplomas, under-awarding Title IV aid to students, charging students for excessive overtime, and engaging in other acts of misrepresentation,” according to a DOE press release.

Marinello has 56 locations nationwide, and received $87 million in Pell grants and federal loans in 2014-15. The 23 locations affected by the cuts serve about 2,100 students.

“This is going to affect all of our campuses, with half of them already hit,” Joe Hixon, a spokesman for Marinello, said by phone.