Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Anthony @ Equity Investigations, Dear Anthony, -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: scion who wrote (92303)	8/22/2005 9:01:22 PM
From: StockDung	Respond to of 122087

Report: Liberian Embassy Official Tied to Diploma Mill Scam, Subject of U.S. Secret Service Probe Liberian Observer (Monrovia) August 22, 2005 Posted to the web August 22, 2005 A U.S. Secret Service affidavit says an agent posed as a would-be operator of an online university and was introduced to Abdulah K. Dunbar, a Liberian Embassy official, at a July 7 meeting that was secretly videotaped by other agents. Dunbar denies demanding money as part of a scam, says agreement was a 'genuine offer.' United States Federal authorities are said to be conducting a criminal probe of suspected "diploma mills" that could involve bogus accreditation supplied by a Liberian government official - and a Rochester-area man appears to be at least tangentially involved in the case. The Rochester Democrat newspaper reported over the weekend that the U.S. Secret Service raided homes and businesses in the western United States late last week in connection with the probe, which is focused on St. Regis University and several related online colleges that claim accreditation from a Liberian government agency. An affidavit filed in court by a Secret Service agent said the colleges sell degrees to "students" and require little or no coursework. Supporting Document When the Observer contacted Mr. Dunbar about the report over the weekend, the deputy consul admitted that he did in fact meet with St. Regis University officials but denies ever requesting or demanding money from them to start an online university in Liberia. Dunbar says in July this year he received a telephone call from a Mr. Novak, who is the head of the St. Regis Online University which Novak said was accredited by the Liberian government. But according to Dunbar, the Liberian government has since disclaimed the accreditation. Dunbar says he agreed to meet Novak at the Mayflower hotel to honor Novak's invitation. Dunbar said he informed Novak and another St. Regis official that it would be difficult to establish an online university in Liberia. According to Dunbar, the procedure used to register St. Regis University in Liberia had backfired before. "Mr. Roberts offered to give Mr. Novak and I, $5,000 each as per diem, excluding our air fare and hotel expenses in Monrovia, since they would not be going to Monrovia, I asked them to prepare a proposal for the establishment of the online University, plus a proposed brochure, which we could present as a blueprint for the Online University to the accredition authorities on Higher Education and the minister," says Dunbar. According to the Democratic-Chronicle, the affidavit said an agent obtained four bogus degrees from the online institutions while working undercover earlier this year. The operators of the colleges, which appear to be based in Spokane, Wash., have reaped at least several million dollars from the scheme, the affidavit said. The Democratic-Chronicle says Richard J. Hoyer, an Irondequoit resident with a history of involvement in online colleges, is identified in the affidavit as having been connected to St. Regis and the Liberian accreditation gambit in the past. Agents listed records or other documents bearing Hoyer's name as among the items they were seeking in their searches. In stories published in 2003, the Democrat and Chronicle reported that Hoyer had drawn scrutiny from education regulators in at least three states. New York ordered him to cease operating an online homeland-security college in October 2003 because it had no state authorization. The newspaper also reported that Hoyer was involved with an entity that was arranging accreditation in the name of the African nation of Liberia. Accreditation, if bestowed by a legitimate entity, serves as proof that a college or university program has met strict standards. The Secret Service affidavit said an agent posed as a would-be operator of an online university and was introduced to Abdulah K. Dunbar, a Liberian Embassy official, at a July 7 meeting that was secretly videotaped by other agents. The affidavit said Dunbar promised he could arrange for Liberian accreditation for the university in return for a $5,000 payment. The Observer is making efforts to contact Mr. Hoyer for a response. But Hoyer, according to the Democratic-Chronicle previously disavowed any past or present connection with St. Regis. The affidavit listed three homes and three businesses in the Spokane area, and a home in suburban Phoenix, Ariz., as targets for searches. It gave no indication that locations in the Rochester area were to be searched. No one has been criminally charged in the probe, though the affidavit said the Secret Service is investigating possible violation of mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and other federal statutes. "It is completely misleading and unfair for a report on the Internet to mention that I demanded the amount of $5,000 from Mr. Roberts and his colleagues. This amount was a genuine offer and a gentlemen agreement to be provided to facilitate our travel to Liberia," says Dunbar.