New York education officials have forced Olivet University to cease operations in the state as university officials face a federal investigation into alleged fraud and money laundering.
A Christian university founded in 2000 by the Korean pastor David Jang, Olivet has faced substantial legal troubles in the past few years, most notably in 2018, when the school pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in New York and was forced to pay a fine of more than $1 million.
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The order by the New York commissioner of education shuttering Olivet’s operations in the state comes as the university is once again embroiled in a money laundering and fraud investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Newsweek reported.
As a result, Olivet’s two New York campuses, in Dover and Manhattan, must be closed and will no longer confer degrees. The school operates several other campuses, including in California, Tennessee, Illinois, and Georgia.
In a statement on its website, the university acknowledged the closure of its New York campuses but did not mention the circumstances that led to the campus closures and expressed a desire to reopen in the Empire State at a later date.
“From 2012 when we first opened an extension in Lower Manhattan, Olivet University New York was blessed to be able to do a lot of good work here, including revitalizing what has become our beloved facility in Dover, New York for use by both the school and the mission hub the ‘Evangelical Center,'” the university said.
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The statement continued, “While we greatly rejoice in the Lord to have seen both the school and the Evangelical Center emerging and flourishing together, at the same time, it was admittedly a struggle to develop the Dover property for Olivet University and the Evangelical Center at the same time. Olivet University New York will be stepping back from offering credit-bearing courses for now, with the intention of diligently seeking to open a chartered institution at the right time and place in New York — an intention expressed in our charter application currently pending with the New York State Education Department. Meanwhile, we are thankful our Dover property can fully and beautifully serve our alumni and friends by being used to meet the Evangelical Center’s pressing needs for space, as well as for non-credit bearing religious training.”
