DERTROIT – The hope of a brighter future and the belief that anything is possible if you work hard: For several Metro Detroiters that description of the American dream turned into a nightmare.
According to a complaint filed with the Michigan Attorney General, they say a woman preyed on their desire for a better life.
"When the place was shut down. When the phone was disconnected, and lights off, no one there. That's when I learned it was a scam," said Elizabeth Finn. "And everything I spent. Everything I did was for nothing."
Finn had a very different outlook on life months ago, just after she met Debra McDonald.
"I was very excited and when I talked with her she made me feel like she was here to save me and let me go to school and better my life," Finn said.
According to her complaint with the AG, Finn wanted to become a registered nurse. She was stuck on a waiting list for years. Then, one day, she heard about McDonald, a woman who ran C.A.H.P. -- the Center for Advancement of Health Care Professionals.
"She really focused on helping women. That's what she promoted, I guess," said Finn. "We all believed it."
C.A.H.P. was advertised as a nursing school in Detroit. McDonald also had another business.
"She owned a home care agency and had nurses. She sounded very legit. She was really for women and helping them get jobs and helping them build better lives for their families," Finn said.
Women from across Metro Detroit joined Finn and signed up for the program. They were hoping to land a nursing career while balancing families, full-time jobs and school. McDonald's program is not cheap.
"You pay the $250 registration fee," Finn said.
That money just got students started. Then there was the tuition.
"She said the cost was $6,000 and you could not use financial aid or pell grants, or anything like that, because they didn't have the qualifications yet and they were waiting on a pin," Finn said.
Each month, dozens of students made $350 payments to C.A.H.P. on top of text books and commuting costs.
"We had books. Paid a lot of money for books because they kept changing," Finn said. "I drove an hour and 1/2 to that facility."
Juggling a full-time job and school, Finn and her classmates finished exams and a two-day clinical. They were approaching the one-year mark and were preparing to take their boards.
"I did everything, then kept going on the website and putting in my Social Security number to see if my stuff had been approved and it just never showed up, never showed up," Finn said. "'Hmm. Something is weird,' then we found out that the building in Southfield, which was her main office, was closed," Finn said.
There was no word from McDonald. C.A.H.P. was closed.
Attorney Ben Aloia said these Metro Detroiters were all promised a better life through a career in nursing, but they were scammed by McDonald.
"They were taken for a ride and they can never recover that time or money again," Aloia said. "By the time they completed the program, she closed her doors, moved out of state. She was nowhere to be found."
Aloia said he has made it his mission to get justice for dozens of women and men whose dreams were dashed by McDonald.
"This woman took their money, promising them that she was accredited but she wasn't," he said. "They can't utilize these classes to take the boards. They can't transfer the credits to another accredited program so they can complete their education and take the boards. The education is practically useless."
Finn and her classmates are left with no certification, no nursing careers and only questions.
Aloia belives there could be more potential victims in Michigan. He is working no a possible civil lawsuit. He also forwarded his investigation to the Michigan Attorney General.