A former student of the now-defunct Family Foundation School in New York has alleged severe abuse during his time at the private boarding school, including being forced to dig his own grave, eat vomit and attend “sexualised group sessions” with teachers.
The claims have been laid out in court documents filed by the survivor, who attended the boarding school between 2000 and 2003. The private institution, which reportedly charged families up to $80,000 (around ₹75.50 lakh) annually, operated in Hancock, a small village in upstate New York, before shutting down in 2014, a report in the New York Post said.
The survivor has filed a $10 million civil lawsuit naming the Argiros family, who ran the boarding school, along with the village of Hancock, local police, and other individuals and entities linked to the institution.
‘Locked in closets, strip searched’
In a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court, the survivor described what he says was a pattern of extreme disciplinary practices used on students at the facility.
Troubled kids were allegedly strip-searched, locked in closets and forced to dig their own graves at the upstate New York boarding school. According to the Post’s report, the survivor has also alleged that local authorities ignored the abuse because of the institution’s wealthy owners.
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Recalling the horror, the survivor, who has obtained legal permission to remain anonymous, alleged that students were “encased” in rolled-up rugs bound with duct tape and were forced to eat their own vomit.
The court filing also alleges students were subjected to forced labour “for the direct financial benefit” of the Argiros family.
‘Sexualised group sessions with teacher’
Pupils were allegedly strip-searched upon arrival and made to participate in “sexualised group sessions” with teachers, court documents as cited by the NY Post state.
The work allegedly included “digging excavation trenches on the Argiros family estate; shovelling snow to maintain the Argiros family estate; cleaning waste from the Argiros family’s pig pens and farm animal enclosures; [and] performing construction labour on the Argiros family’s private residence,” according to the filing cited by the US news outlet.
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They were also allegedly made to cook meals and maintain the family’s home.
It further claims that K9 dogs were used to “pursue and forcibly return” students who attempted to escape.
Authorities ignored complaints, says lawsuit
The lawsuit also alleges that local authorities ignored complaints of abuse due to the “influence” of owners Michael and Cindy Argiros.
The former student has alleged that families were misled into placing children at the institution and later encouraged to transfer legal guardianship to the Argiros family.
He further claimed the school was run by individuals described as “former alcoholics and self-identified sex addicts with no professional licensing, clinical training, or educational credentials.”
Sexual abuse allegation
The survivor, who lived between Demarest, New Jersey, and Roosevelt Island in New York, said he was placed under the supervision of music teacher Paul Geer while at the school.
He alleged Geer coerced him into joining a chorus program and later sexually abused him during a trip to Toronto.
When he reported the abuse to Mike Argiros, he was allegedly not acted upon and instead placed on “work sanction,” according to court documents. He also testified against Geer in a 2024 federal criminal trial.
Geer was later convicted of sexually abusing children and sentenced in September to 27 years in federal prison, the report added.
