I think that if you read the letter he sends out to applicants, it all becomes clearer. He says -
- BOND: If you accept to go ahead you will be required to pay $5,000 by 29 January which covers immigration costs, airfares and legal expenses. When immigration is approved, you will then be required by 12 March to pay $20,000 as a security bond. If you join the business as a fully qualified Multi Engine Instrument rating, Commercial Pilot this will be refundable after 12 months.
What the bond is actually going towards (for some applicants) is a complete licence, multi instrument rating and type rating, not just a type rating alone. It is actually a pretty good deal if you are an ab initio. Of course the next question would be, why not have a two-tier system for those who have the CPL and multi instrument? Although the qualified people get their 20K back (hopefully) which makes it a simple loyalty bond for them.
Makes you wonder if he still wants the extra 5K, seeing as how Hawaii is off the cards for now (and probably always will be).
If you can verify that whoever is holding the money is trustworthy, and if you don't mind doing everything else besides flying, and if you actually have the cash in the first place - may be worth a punt. You'd need to be pretty desperate, though...