🔒CT regulators accuse Putnam Science Academy operators of $5.7M securities fraud

Connecticut banking regulators have accused operators of the for-profit Putnam Science Academy of orchestrating securities fraud that raised at least $5.7 million from investors through false promises and misrepresentations about the private high school’s financial health.

The state Banking Commissioner issued an amended cease and desist order on Nov. 17 against D & M Group LLC, PSA Education Inc., and the school’s owners Tieqiang Ding and his wife Hong “Julia” Fang. The order alleges the defendants conducted an “affinity fraud” that targeted Chinese nationals and Chinese Americans through the social media platform WeChat.

The school, at 18 Maple St., sits on a 30-acre campus overlooking the Quinebaug River. It was founded in 1928 and transformed from a Catholic High School in the 1950s to an international boys boarding school in 2022.

Putnam Science Academy’s student enrollment ranges from 120 to 232, according to its website. The school's website lists “Tie Q. Ding” as its president and “Julia Fang” as its director of finance.

According to the Department of Banking filing, Tieqiang Ding and Hong Fang solicited at least four investors between January 2017 and August 2020 by making material misrepresentations about their qualifications and the school’s value. Ding suggested to an investor that he held a degree from Yale University and falsely claimed Putnam Science Academy was valued between $15 million and $21 million when an independent audit showed total assets of $3.3 million, regulators allege.

The order states that Ding and Fang used investor money for personal expenses including mortgage payments, tuition for their children’s schools, clothing and travel, rather than for capital improvements at the school as promised.

The defendants sold unregistered securities to investors through promissory notes and other investment agreements, according to the filing. When investors requested additional documentation about the school’s finances, “Ding became defensive and sometimes threatened to withdraw the investment opportunity,” the order states, pressuring investors to send money before receiving proper disclosures.

The largest alleged victim is an unnamed Massachusetts-based education corporation that invested $4.8 million through two convertible promissory notes in 2019 and 2020. Despite a 2024 court judgment in the investor’s favor for the full amount plus interest and fees, the judgment remains unpaid, according to the filing.

Two other investors are owed a combined $350,000, the order states.

Ding and Fang purchased Putnam Science Academy in October 2015 for $2.9 million through D & M Group, according to the filing. Ding formed PSA Education in July 2016 to operate and solicit investors for the school.

The commissioner ordered the defendants to pay restitution totaling at least $5.15 million plus interest to the identified victims, and to disclose any additional investors within 30 days of the order becoming permanent. The order also includes notice of intent to impose fines of up to $100,000 per violation on each defendant.

A hearing on the allegations is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026. If the defendants fail to appear, the allegations will be deemed admitted and the cease and desist order will become permanent, according to the filing.

An attorney listed for Ding’s LLC in a foreclosure case said he was not representing D & M Group in this matter.