By now you’ve probably heard about the scandal involving John Wrights music academy, which was shut down last month by the Obama administration and forced to sell its recording studio to a public-private partnership.
The music academy had been operated as a nonprofit since 2007.
Its $12.4 million operating budget, according to the nonprofit’s own numbers, was $2.6 million.
That was less than half the $12 million that the nonprofit was estimated to have made last year, according a separate report from the nonprofit watchdog Common Cause.
Its staff of around 600 had made around $200,000 last year.
But in January, after the Obama Administration announced it was closing Wrights, it ordered the academy to shut down.
The nonprofit is also being sued by two former employees who claim they were fired after they tried to raise concerns about the music academy’s hiring practices.
(The lawsuit has not yet been filed.)
The Justice Department has taken over oversight of the music school.
The Trump administration has said it has been reviewing the music-school allegations.
We asked Wrights for comment.
He told us: “I’m confident I have an excellent relationship with the Department of Justice.”
He added, “We will vigorously defend the administration’s actions.”
He said the music Academy’s operations are being reviewed to make sure they are complying with federal labor laws.
“I don’t have any concerns about this being in compliance with the law,” Wrights said.
We reached out to the Justice Department and Wrights’ lawyers for comment but haven’t received a response.
This article was originally published on March 7, 2018.