This happened to me in 1979. I was a young pilot who had saved up over the summer working in a steel mill so I could obtain my instrument rating.
Went to a flight school in Yougstown, Ohio and gave them a nice chunk of change up front to get a discounted rate. Everything was fine until about half way through the owner shut the doors and he still had about $800 of my money (a lot for a 19 year old in those days).
I went on to finish the rating elsewhere but it was a bitter life lesson.
BTW - In the aftermath I had to literally restrain my father from taking revenge on the owner. Different times then.