CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against The Entertainment Project Inc., a music camp that shut down in May and allegedly failed to refund more than $40,000 to parents.
The Entertainment Project and its founders, Timothy Kiernan and Lauren Peters, allegedly shut down the music camp in May, canceling the end of its spring session and an upcoming Gordon Tech-based summer camp. Families allegedly paid more than $40,000 in advance to register for the summer camp.
"The camp's owners not only dashed kids' hope, they took their parents' money," Madigan said. "This lawsuit is intended to ensure that these dishonest operators are put out of business in Illinois for good."
Madigan's lawsuit alleges that Kiernan and Peters continued to accept deposits of more than $1,000 per family in the lead up to the camp's closure. Parents were also allegedly charged $100 to $500 each without authorization.
Kiernan sent parents an email about the closing of the business and said the closure was the result of economic trouble. The email made no mention of refunds and parents who tried to get their money back received no response.
The Entertainment Project was a musical theater production company that offered summer and after-school programs for children at multiple locations, including several schools in the Chicago area.
The lawsuit requests that the court ban The Entertainment Project from operating again in the state and to provide the impacted families with restitution.
Illinois AG sues music camp that allegedly failed to issue refunds
