Scott Given, founder and former executive director of the Croft School, apologized after bankruptcy filings alleged he concealed millions in debt. The for-profit school, which served about 600 students across campuses in Providence, Jamaica Plain, and Boston’s
In a letter released through his attorneys, Scott Given didn’t start with excuses. He started with an apology.
“I owe this community an apology. ” Given wrote. acknowledging that he lied to families. teachers. staff. and investors about the school’s finances as the Croft School entered bankruptcy proceedings last week. He added that he was trying to answer a question many people have been asking—why the numbers didn’t match what the community was being told.
The Croft School, a for-profit school that served nearly 600 students across campuses in Providence, Jamaica Plain, and Boston’s South End, is now in Chapter 7 liquidation. The Oxford Street Education LLC, the entity that owns and operates the school, filed for liquidation in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The bankruptcy filing says the school owes creditors more than $12.2 million.
Investigations were already underway before the apology landed. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s Securities Division have all launched investigations into the school’s finances, according to the bankruptcy filing.
The filing also ties the current crisis to the Croft School’s own board. In March. Croft’s Board of Managers said it learned of “serious irregularities” in the school’s financial management and launched an investigation into Given on March 13. In a letter sent to the school community on March 17. the board accused him of hiding roughly $13 million in debt. keeping two sets of financial records. and forging a $500. 000 letter of credit intended to serve as a security deposit for a South End lease.
That sequence helped define how quickly trust unraveled—and how close the school came to collapse this spring. The financial crisis nearly forced the Croft School to close. Parents then organized a fundraising effort that generated enough money to keep all three campuses operating through June 12. the school said in a letter dated June 1.
Croft also sought buyers, but school officials said in the June 1 letter they were unsuccessful. The South End campus was later acquired by South End Village Academy, a group formed by Croft parents. The Providence and Jamaica Plain campuses are expected to close next week.
Given’s letter defended parts of his conduct while conceding the core harm. He said he invested significant personal resources into the school and borrowed money from family members. including his father and his wife’s parents. to support operations. He also defended a bond program that raised money from parents and other investors.
Still, he framed his actions as a failure of honesty. “Because I had distorted reality in hopes that reality would eventually catch up (and it did not), I made increasingly bad decisions to avoid collapse,” Given wrote.
He offered separate apologies to teachers and staff, families, and investors and lenders, saying he dishonored their trust. “I will carry enormous guilt, shame, and remorse for the rest of my life for what I did to this community,” his letter continued.
Given also said he did not use school funds for “personal luxury or enrichment.” But bankruptcy records point elsewhere. They say sums were transferred to Given and members of his family in the year before the filing.
Court documents described transfers of more than $100. 000 to Given’s Stephan Hauke—identified by The Boston Globe as Given’s father-in-law—in late February. and another $40. 000 transferred to Robert Given in late January. In total. bankruptcy filings show more than $770. 000 was paid to Given. Hauke. and Robert Given during the year preceding the bankruptcy.
Even with the apology, the fallout is not confined to the school’s finances. A spokesperson for South End Village Academy said the letter does not resolve the questions that remain in the community.
“This likely does nothing to deter members of the Croft South End community from seeking accountability,” the SEVA spokesperson said in response to the letter.
Teachers and staff members at the Jamaica Plain campus moved the dispute into court. On Thursday, they filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against the school, Given, and board member Michael Goldstein. The complaint alleges Croft failed to pay approximately 40 teachers and staff members the full salaries they were owed for the academic year.
SEVA said teachers and staff at the South End campus have received their full contractual compensation for the 2025-26 academic year, including salary payments scheduled through August.
The Croft School did not respond to a request for comment Sunday night.
The story now sits in the narrow gap between what Given apologized for and what multiple filings and lawsuits claim happened next—debt concealed. records allegedly split. a lease security allegedly altered. and students left staring at an uncertain future as institutions scramble to pick up the pieces.
Croft School Scott Given bankruptcy Chapter 7 Oxford Street Education LLC Jamaica Plain Providence South End Village Academy Suffolk Superior Court William F. Galvin SEC U.S. Attorney's Office debt