The Marinello Schools of Beauty, which has more than 50 sites nationwide including one in Niantic, has been cited for falsifying financial records, leading to the U.S. Department of Education cutting off loans and grants to its students.

The for-profit Whittier, Calif.-based company, which has been in the education business for more than a century, said to students in a letter obtained by The Day that the government’s action “threatens the future of your education at Marinello.” It is unclear whether the local school will be closing, but the company noted that it depends on federal dollars for about 80 percent of its funding.

The Education Department said Marinello had been engaged in a variety of irregularities, including fabricating high school diplomas, charging excessive overtime and withholding part of students’ financial aid.

The department suspended federal aid Monday to dozens of beauty schools and three technical schools as part of a wider investigation.

"Unfortunately, some schools violate their trust through deceptive marketing practices and defraud taxpayers by giving out student aid inappropriately," Ted Mitchell, U.S. under secretary of education, said in a statement.

Marinello said in its letter to students that it was blindsided by the Education Department actions.

“We learned of these allegations only an hour before they were released publicly,” said the undated and unsigned letter. “While we intend to appeal this decision and while Marinello believes it has done nothing wrong and will defend itself vigorously, without the federal funds our students deserve, our operations are at risk.

A call to the Marinello beauty school in Niantic went unreturned by midafternoon Wednesday, and a call and email to a national spokesperson also were not immediately returned. According to an online search, there are more than a half dozen Marinello schools in Connecticut.

Marinello, which received more than $87 million in federal grants and loans during the last academic year, has two weeks to file information disputing the government’s claims.

According to a report in The Washington Post, the federal action would interrupt the education of about 4,300 students nationwide. It also could lead to the loss of about 800 jobs.

The Education Department’s latest moves are part of a three-year period in which it has cracked down on 30 for-profit schools for being noncompliant with government regulations, according to The Post. One of the best-known companies cited in the past was Corinthian Colleges, and the most recent round of suspensions involved the Computer Systems Institute, which has been told it will no longer be eligible for federal financial aid.

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow