The chairman of a company funding the Sagemont Preparatory school in Weston was labeled a “senior member” of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Financial Times said Fred Hu Zuilu, chairman of the Primavera Captial Group, was a “senior party member” of the CCP. On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended the use of school choice scholarships at Sagemont over ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

On Saturday, Sagemont Preparatory denied any ties to the Chinese government. In a statement to the Sun-Sentinel, a Sagemont spokesperson wrote, “We are regularly acknowledged as one of the best private schools in our area and have a track record of delivering outstanding educational outcomes, which is why parents choose us,” the statement said. “Our schools are locally run, abide by local, state and federal laws, and do not have ties to any government or political party, either foreign or domestic. Our curriculum is accredited, standards-based and academically rigorous.”

However, The Sagemont Preparatory website states “it is part of Spring Education Group. Spring Education, the website says, ‘is controlled by Primavera Holdings Limited, an investment firm (together with its affiliates) principally based in Hong Kong with operations in China, Singapore, and the United States, that is itself owned by Chinese persons residing in Hong Kong.’”

According to numerous published reports, Hu, a former partner at Goldman Sachs, held multiple academic and business positions usually reserved for senior CCP members.

REDBROWARD revealed Hu wrote numerous pro-Chinese Communist Party editorials in the South China Morning Post.

Hu and Primavera Capital own and operate The Princeton Review which provides tutoring, testing and college admission resources to students across the United States.