Zach Swenson, 19, drove across the country to chase his pastry dream.

"I love baking, breads, cakes and everything," Swenson said.

The Notter School of Pastry Arts in Orlando would be his path to owning his own bakery.

"We started out simple, we just had baking and science program," Swenson said.

Swenson spent $22,000 for a 29-week European pastry course. But just as quickly his dream started, it came to an end.

Suddenly, no one was answering the phone at the school. The school's president, Beverly Karshner, resigned just before the school suspended classes. When we went by the school to investigate, we were surprised to find the school practically gutted.

Students received an email at the beginning of the month that the school had been broken into and not to show up for class. That was last correspondence anyone received. It's been weeks, classes haven't resumed and faculty said they haven't received a paycheck.

We talked to the property owner who said that the business was behind on their rent so they are moving out. Much of the cooking equipment is now outside on the sidewalk. Now the question is what happens next.

No one returned our numerous calls to the pastry school. Court records show the Notter School of Pastry Arts was evicted from a previous location in 2011, and there are several open suits regarding breach of contracts.

Court records show there is a legal battle between Karshner and the school's part owner, Chef Ewald Notter. They are suing each other for breach of contract.

Repeated attempts to reach bother Karshner and Notter were not successful.

Chef Notter's legal troubles could mean big problem for the students. Most of the students took out federal loans to pay for the course.

Swenson is now trying to find enough cash to get back home to Kansas for the holidays.

The Department of Education said they have made contact with the owners of Notter School of Pastry Arts. They are working with them to figure out a plan where the students can go to complete their culinary education. The spokesperson said it's unclear if the students will receive full refunds for money already invested, but it is still early in the investigation.