ST PAUL, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired in October of 2021.
A former St. Paul charter school superintendent is being sued by the Minnesota Attorney General's Office for allegedly taking more than $4 million meant to educate students and losing it in a hedge fund.
Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the lawsuit in a news release Thursday, detailing the allegations against Christianna M. Hang, who founded Hmong College Prep Academy (HCPA) in 2003. In the lawsuit, the AG's office accuses Hang of violating Minnesota's fiduciary duty of care under the state law governing nonprofit organizations.
Hang is accused of entering into a partnership in 2019 with Woodstock Capital Partners LP, a hedge fund, against the advice of HCPA's legal and accounting advisors. The lawsuit says Hang wired $5 million of the school's money to Woodstock without the school board's knowledge and lost $4.3 million of it. She resigned under pressure in 2021 when details of the failed deal became public.
HCPA was sharply criticized in a follow-up report by the Office of the Minnesota State Auditor and the Charities Division of the Attorney General’s Office then conducted an independent civil investigation, setting the table for the lawsuit.
“I am frankly stunned by the recklessness HCPA’s former superintendent displayed when she took millions of dollars meant to educate children and instead wired them into some obscure hedge fund,” said Ellison in a released statement. “This illegal use of HCPA’s resources and subsequent loss of over $4 million is an astonishing disservice to students and their families, teachers and administrators, and Minnesota taxpayers. Today, I am suing to recover these funds, protect the educations of young Minnesotans attending HCPA, and hold Ms. Hang accountable.”
The AG's office is seeking the return of the lost funds, injunctive relief to help guard against similar actions going forward and civil penalties according to state law.