The FBI hasn't gone after a high-profile diploma-mill case since the 1980s when "DipScam," the code name for Diploma Scam, produced successful prosecutions for wire, mail and tax fraud.
Monday, December 01, 2003, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Spokane a 'diploma mill' hot spot; practice under scrutiny
By The Associated Press
SPOKANE — For its physical address, online high school Liberty Prep lists a pinkish house that recently had an overflowing garbage can and a broken-down speedboat in its front yard.
The school's Web site is almost identical to that of Branford Academy, another online school in Spokane.
Both offer high-school degrees for $286, two-year community-college degrees for $661, and links to cyberspace "universities" that sell bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees.
"Spokane is one of two hot spots in the country right now for this kind of activity," said John Bear, an author from El Cerrito, Calif. The other is Rochester, N.Y., he told The Spokesman-Review newspaper. Like most states, Washington has no laws prohibiting such schools. Federal wire and mail-fraud laws could apply, but the schools haven't been high priority for law enforcement in the post-Sept. 11 world.
Using or selling bogus high-school or college degrees is illegal in just four states: Oregon, North Dakota, New Jersey and Illinois.
With increased computer usage, online high schools and universities are popping up everywhere, using spam to attract potential grads, said Alan Contreras, who works for Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization.
Some are legitimate, said Bear, a court-qualified expert on diploma mills. Many are not.
Graduates of these so-called diploma mills are beginning to come under increased scrutiny.
In the past two months, an undersecretary of defense and a ranking official at the Department of Homeland Security have come under fire for degrees from questionable universities.
The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is looking into the extent of the problem among federal employees. But that likely won't rein in the trend, experts say.
Internet operations use mailing addresses in places such as Liberia, Dominican Republic, Romania or, sometimes, a post-office box in Washington, D.C.
The two Spokane online schools offer applicants a 100-question multiple-choice test, which is translated into a grade-point average. The tests are linked to either St. Regis or Robertstown universities.
"Free Evaluation! No Risk! Guaranteed Pass!" their Web sites say.
Kenneth Pearson of Spokane, listed as the "registrant" for Liberty Prep, did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment. A "registrant" is the person who registered the Web site's domain name. Pearson registered libertyprep.org on Aug. 25, public records show.
Dixie Randock, a former Spokane real-estate agent, was listed as the registrant for Branford Academy and a related school, James Monroe University, until last week. After calls from a Spokesman-Review reporter asking about her ties to Branford Academy, the registrant listing was changed to Mike Dunbar of Monrovia, Liberia.
James Monroe University appears to be the "conjoined twin" of a similar operation, Breyer State, that uses a post-office box in Kamiah, Idaho, according to the state of Oregon's Web site on unaccredited schools.
"Diploma mills are substandard or fraudulent colleges that offer potential students degrees with little or no serious work," the Oregon site says.
Randock, once listed as the Branford registrant, agreed to answer questions via e-mail.
"I do not own or operate Branford Academy," Randock said. Asked why her name and the address of her family's mobile-home business were listed as official contacts, she said: "I believe that information is pretty old."
Asked why Branford's 100-question test was linked to St. Regis University, she said: "You will have to ask them. As far as we know they are accredited by their country."
The contact phone number for the Branford site is the same as that used by the "A-Plus Institute," an online real-estate school in the Spokane suburb of Mead operated by Randock. Her husband, Steve Randock, was listed as the registrant for "Advanced Education Institute Trust," linked on the Internet to Robertstown University.
In Washington state, such operations may violate "unfair and deceptive business practices" provisions of the state's Consumer Protection Act, said Assistant Attorney General Steve Larsen.
"There is a red flag there," said Larsen, assigned to the attorney general's consumer-protection office in Seattle.
But he said many people who purchase bogus degrees know what they're doing and have not been deceived. Prospective employers who see the degrees listed on job applications may not realize they're bogus, however.
Mike Ball, associate director of Washington's Higher Education Coordinating Board, said loopholes in state laws allow diploma mills to operate here.
A school must have an actual building in the state before the HEC Board has jurisdiction, he said.
State laws, written before the rapid advance of the Internet, don't consider whether an online school's registrant lives in Washington.
The FBI hasn't gone after a high-profile diploma-mill case since the 1980s when "DipScam," the code name for Diploma Scam, produced successful prosecutions for wire, mail and tax fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission may get involved when diploma-mill degrees are used fraudulently.
seattletimes.nwsource.com |
