A state judge has frozen the assets of the founders of an unaccredited Leeward O'ahu pharmacy college that's under investigation by the state.

In a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna placed a hold on all properties and bank accounts held by the Hawaii College of Pharmacy in Kapolei and the school's top executives, Denise Criswell and David Monroe.

The move comes after the state alleged in a lawsuit last week that the school misled students about its accreditation status and improperly collected $7 million in tuition payments from 240 students.

Stephen Levins, executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection, said the order will assist his office's efforts to recover students' money.

Criswell, the pharmacy school's president and chairman, and Monroe, the college's secretary and director, could not be reached for immediate comment. The school's dean, H.A. Hassan, said it was unfortunate that the state chose "to take this drastic action."

The restraining order will remain in effect until Aug. 10, when McKenna will hold a hearing on the state's suit.

In its suit, the state is asking for the appointment of a receiver to take over the school's assets and for an order barring the private institution from collecting tuition. The suit also asked that the school pay restitution to victims harmed by the school's alleged misrepresentations.

McKenna's order did not list the properties and assets that were being frozen. But an affidavit by state investigator James Dooman noted that Monroe owns a $500,000 home in Kentucky and Criswell owns property in Las Vegas.

Dooman also said that the college's former chief financial officer, Clifford Park, told him that Monroe, formerly known as David Yacas, paid himself a salary of $500,000 and took large sums of students' tuition money and placed it in two bank accounts in Nevada and a stock brokerage account in Hawai'i.