Former students of the Family Foundation School in Hancock, N.Y., say they endured brutal punishments and forced labor that included being made to dig graves and eat their own vomit, according to a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month. The complaint, lodged June 5 in federal court in Brooklyn, names the Argiros family, who ran the campus, along with the Village of Hancock and the local police department, and seeks roughly $10 million in damages. The allegations build on years of criminal cases and civil suits that survivors and advocates say exposed systemic abuse at the remote boarding program.
Complaint filed in Brooklyn federal court
The suit was filed by plaintiff Valerio Pizzoferrato and lists Education Plus Corp. d/b/a The Family Foundation School and a web of business entities and individuals as defendants, including Emmanuel (Michael) and Cindy Argiros, K9-5 Inc., Chapel Hill Land Holdings LLC and the Hancock Village Police Department, according to the federal docket. Justia shows the case number as 1:2026cv03396 and records the June 5 filing.
Allegations of brutality and forced labor
The complaint alleges students were ordered to dig trenches and lie in what they were told were their own graves, were strip-searched on arrival, and at times locked in closets without water or bathroom access. It also accuses staff of encasing children in rolled-up rugs bound with duct tape, forcing them to eat regurgitated food, and using K9 dogs to chase and bring back runaways. According to the filing, students were compelled to shovel snow, clean pig pens, and perform construction and domestic work for the private benefit of the Argiros family.
The suit seeks roughly $10 million in damages, according to news coverage summarizing the court papers, and describes a regimen of punishment that survivors say left lasting scars. New York Post published a detailed account of the allegations, while local coverage has tied similar punishments to an earlier criminal case. In that prosecution, a former staffer’s disciplinary tactics were labeled "tantamount to torture" by prosecutors, according to WBNG.
Criminal conviction that cast new light on the campus
The new complaint follows the federal conviction and sentencing of former teacher Paul Geer, who in 2025 was ordered to serve 327 months in prison after jurors found he transported and sexually abused students across state lines. Testimony at Geer’s trial and the court’s findings, including evidence that children were starved, forced to eat regurgitated food, and isolated for long periods, have given survivors new grounds to press civil claims. Times Union summarized the sentence and key trial evidence.
Why now
Survivors and their attorneys say the June filing is part of a broader push to hold the school’s operators and local enablers to account after years of litigation, reporting and criminal prosecutions. The campus’ troubled history, including an alarming number of premature deaths among alumni documented by reporters, has driven renewed scrutiny of how the program operated and who knew what, and when. The New York Times detailed that history in 2018.
Legal fallout and next steps
The complaint names municipal actors and local institutions alongside private operators, alleging that reports of abuse were ignored because of the Argiros family’s influence, a claim that, if proven, could expose towns or departments to civil liability. Earlier federal filings and rulings in related suits lay out similar allegations and reference depositions in which Emmanuel Argiros denied awareness of abuse, giving the new suit a substantial record to mine in discovery. GovInfo provides those court records in related litigation.
The case is pending in the Eastern District of New York. The public docket shows the complaint and summons were entered June 5 and lists Elizabeth Johannesen as counsel for the plaintiff. Some defendants have previously denied knowledge of abuse in depositions, according to earlier court filings, and the federal docket will be the public record to watch for the next move in the case. Justia contains the filings.
