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Jeff Tran paid $3500 to take classes at the Victorian Beauty School.

But he was surprised when he showed up to school Tuesday.

“This morning I came in and everything was fine she just happened to tell us that to come back in a couple of weeks, call back on March first because they need to do something about inspection,” said Tran.

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Cheating allegations force beauty school to close.

But that is only part of the story.

Victorian Beauty School is known nationally as a place to enroll if you wanted to become a Texas cosmetologist, but can’t or don’t want to attend classes.

It was also, officials say, a place where, for a price, you could hire someone to take your licensing exams for you.

That ended Friday when state District Judge Margaret Cooper of the 353 ^rd District issued a temporary restraining order requiring the owners of Victorian Beauty College to stop selling hours to students who do not attend classes, to stop cheating on the test and to refrain from threatening any witnesses against them.
Judge Cooper also set a hearing for February 22 to consider a request by the Office of the Attorney General for a Temporary Injunction and an order that would revoke the cosmetology licenses of the school’s owners and employees who were involved in the scheme.

State investigators believe at least 92 students from 25 states got their licenses here without ever showing up - paying employees to take tests for them.

“The danger is that for people that have not been properly trained in school and have not been tested to show their ability are out there performing cosmetology services for citizens and exposing them to risk,” said one state official.

Tran said he didn’t suspect a thing. “Everything was good everything was fine, and now I have no idea.”

Students who showed up were met with a sign saying the school was closed.

Those who call the facility are hearing this, “The school is now closed. Call back after March the first for more information.”

The school’s owners will argue their case in a hearing in two weeks. Meanwhile, state investigators say the school has just been sold—to someone who wants to rename it the “Victorious Beauty School.”

A judge will decide whether that’s enough of a change to reopen the doors—or close the school for good.

Applicants for cosmetology licenses in Texas are required to prove that they attended a cosmetology school for a specific number of instructional hours.

They must also pass a written test that covers topics such as sanitation practices, proper use of chemicals, TDLR rules and state law and a practical test demonstrating their technical skills.
Investigators say individuals from other states usually did not practice cosmetology in Texas.

Since cosmetology licensing requirements in Texas are more stringent than in most other states, those states often will give applicants a license based solely on their Texas license.
The scheme came to light when a PSI employee compared the picture of an individual who came to take her practical exam with the picture taken earlier when the applicant had purportedly taken her written exam and discovered that the pictures did not match.

PSI, the company that provides cosmetology license testing for TDLR, takes pictures of test takers both when they take their written exams and, later, their practical exams.