The Marinello Schools of Beauty announced Thursday﻿ they are closing all 56 of their campuses as a result of the loss of federal funding.

Campuses in California, Nevada and Utah closed Thursday and locations in Kansas and Connecticut will close Friday. Students will receive transcripts, information about transfer options and other materials during on-campus meetings next week, school officials said.

The closures will affect about 4,300 students and 800 employees. Locally, the impact will be felt in such communities as Ontario, Huntington Beach, Burbank, San Bernardino, Lomita, Whittier and Simi Valley, among others.

The Department of Education announced this week that it was taking action to end participation in the federal student financial assistance programs at 23 Marinello Schools of Beauty campuses in California and Nevada.

WHY WAS FEDERAL FUNDING PULLED?

The DOE alleges Marinello was knowingly requesting federal aid for students based on invalid high school diplomas, under-awarding federal Title IV aid to students, charging students for excessive overtime and engaging in other acts of misrepresentation.

Marinello spokesman Joe Hixon said those claims were based on flawed information.

“We had really good responses to the areas they addressed,” he said. “They began withholding financial aid funding to us two months ago but wouldn’t say what the allegations were. That’s kind of like being arrested and not being told what the charges are.”

Hixon took issue with the DOE’s claim that Marinello sought financial aid for students with invalid high school diplomas.

“If they don’t have a high school diploma or the equivalent, they are not eligible for financial aid,” he said. “But we think it’s important for everyone to have at least that educational background, so we work with students through an accredited school to get their high school equivalency completed.”

MARINELLO RESPONDS TO FEDERAL CLAIMS

Hixon also discounted the claim that some Marinello students have been charged for excessive overtime.

“To get your accreditation license you have to complete a certain number of hours of training,” he said. “If a student misses an excessive number of classes, we offer makeup hours for them to come in. But when it gets past a certain point, they have to pay for that because it costs us money to have the lights on and teachers there.”

Rashed Elyas, chairman and CEO of the Marinello schools, expressed frustration with the situation.

“We want you to know that we did everything in our power to avoid this unfortunate conclusion and keep your school open,” Elyas said in a letter to students that was posted on the company’s website. “We are working hard, and are well into the process of arranging partnerships with other schools that would enable you to complete your coursework.”

STUDENTS ARE UPSET, UNSURE OF FUTURE

Students who had been attending the Burbank location weren’t happy to learn their school was closing.

“I feel like a motherless child,” said student Desiree Morris. “We have to completely start over.”

Ashlyn Colapietro, 22, of Eastvale graduated from the Marinello’s Whittier school in late 2012 and was surprised by Thursday’s news.

“It shocked me,” she said. “I have a friend who only had 175 hours left and now she can’t do anything. She’s out money and out a career.”

• Photos: Marinello School of Beauty closes all campuses

Emily Reyes, who completed 1,300 of her required 1,600 hours at the San Bernardino campus, wasn’t so surprised by the closures.

“It’s not like we didn’t see it coming,” she said. “It’s just depressing. It took time and sacrifice for me to be here … I’m staying positive.”

MARINELLO TO HELP STUDENTS TRANSITION

Marinello will be hosting meetings on its campuses next week to provide students with the necessary paperwork and other information they need to learn how they can continue their education either, through Marinello’s partnerships with other schools or through another channel.

“At this meeting, you will receive your official transcripts, proof of training, financial aid transcripts, state contacts and other important materials,” Elyas said. “Representatives of the state agencies in California, Nevada and Connecticut will be present at these meetings to explain your rights and the options available to you.”

Several displaced Marinello students have already approached the International College of Beauty Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles.

“Since yesterday we’ve had 50 to 60 students contact us,” school President Sonia Boghosian said Wednesday. “They have two or three schools that are very close to us and can take them in. Most of them are very desperate and upset.”

If Marinello students transfer to the school, they would keep their accrued hours and credits, she said.

Jesus Garcia of Rialto said he saw nearly 40 students crying and hugging outside Marinello’s Ontario campus on Thursday.

“They were all confused,” he said. “They thought they had another week before it closed. They didn’t know what to do.”

DOE spokeswoman Dorie Turner Nolt said her department is working with higher education partners to answer questions and address student concerns.

“We are making plans to have department staff available to assist students at locations near Marinello campuses,” she said in an email. “Locations and times will be announced in coming days.”

Marinello offered a variety of certificate programs in such areas as cosmetology, hair design, manicuring/nail technology, massage therapy, barbering and advanced facial and body treatments.

The programs were typically 12 to 18 months in duration.

A 110-YEAR HISTORY OF BEAUTY TRAINING

Last year marked Marinello’s 110th anniversary. The enterprise began in 1903 when Ruth Maurer, wife of a La Crosse, Wisconsin, physician, cooked up a batch of face cream in a double boiler over a gas jet in the basement of her red brick home.

Two years later, Maurer started a beauty school to develop trained and capable beauticians who were skilled in the art of skin and hair care. The company’s headquarters moved to New York City in 1925 and to Los Angeles in 1963, when it was acquired by Scope Industries.

Marinello has been under the ownership of B&H Education Inc. in Beverly Hills since March 2004.

Staff writers Ryan Carter and Nereida Moreno contributed to this report.