An Edmonton student with big dreams of working in radio says a local broadcasting school left him with a very big bill after it mysteriously went off-air.

Scott O'Donnell said he signed up for the Canadian School of Modern Broadcasting this spring in hopes of honing his skills in radio. His program was supposed to run May 11 to August 11.

"It looked like it was a good school," he said. "It had a lot of backing to it."

Yet two months into his program, O'Donnell said some of his teachers stopped showing up for classes. Some even went on extended vacations.

"One of the teachers left for a week to go to Vancouver and just said, 'Oh well, that's okay, you guys can wake up at 10 a.m.'"

O'Donnell said he got so frustrated with the lack of professionalism he stopped going to classes in June.

The school reportedly says he still owes them $5,000 in tuition.

"I put all my trust into them and I got absolutely nothing in return," he said. "Now I'm stuck with a $5,000 student loan."

When CTV News stopped by the school's downtown office, only empty tables, chairs, boxes and a disconnected phone line were present.

The institution's website labels the school as the "perfect environment" for students to achieve their very best using "state-of-the-art equipment and tops-in-their field professional instructors."

School owner arrested in Georgia 

Owner Jacquie Hammond told CTV News this week via e-mail she would be happy to answer any questions from where she is staying Savannah, Georgia.

CTV News sent an e-mail containing questions for Hammond. The station has not received a response.

An American news station reports Hammond was arrested Tuesday in Savannah for three counts of fraud related to her talent and modeling agency in the U.S.

The local jail officials said while Hammond was trying to post bond Wednesday, police added 13 more charges. She is now charged with six counts of financial transaction card fraud, five counts of identity theft and five counts of theft by deception.

She will remain in jail until her court date next month.

The Alberta Education and Technology Department says it is investigating the school since receiving two different complaints.

Department spokesman Kevin Donnan said they tried to contact the school on Friday with no success.

"We certainly have the ability to suspend a license, remove a license or even refund tuition," he said.

The department encourages any other students with similar concerns to come forward.

Meanwhile, O'Donnell says he still has questions about whether the school was operating properly.

"I just want my money back and want them to stop luring in more students," he said. "It's crazy."

With a report from CTV Edmonton's Dez Melenka