As someone instructing at Long Beach, formerly at Rainbow Air Academy, now at Long Beach Flying Club teaching FAA stuff only, I can assure everyone that the guy in charge of ACF is perhaps the complete opposite of the guy in charge of UKFT. I know both individuals personally and have worked alongside each of them.
For you guys looking to do this JAA/FAA/JAA route in Long Beach, I'd recommend ACF - the instructors are dedicated, motivated and highly experienced.
I appreciate the healthy dose of skepticism and suspicion from BillyBob -I bet his preflights, and instrument scan are excellent! Joking aside, there's nothing wrong with bringing up a seemingly obvious concern about the motive behind a flight school, as the amount of money you are going to hand over to them seems enormous and should directly relate to the amount of trust you have in them to provide safe reliable airplanes, knowledgable instructors, and accountability.
Good luck in your search, happy trails to all