Stories related to Diploma mill

Showing up to 25 most recent stories

Diploma mill webmaster gets 4 years for fraud, porn

(10/29/2008) The computer guru behind a Spokane-based diploma mill operation who was caught with 11,000 images of child pornography was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison – the longest term given any of eight defendants in the case that spanned the globe.

CFO of Spokane diploma mill sentenced to 3 years

(8/6/2008) Steven Karl Randock Sr., described by a prosecutor as the chief financial operator of a Spokane-based diploma mill, was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison after his defense attorney made an impassioned plea for home detention.

Congress OKs education bill

(8/1/2008) A major overhaul of the federal higher education laws that make college costs more affordable also attempts to crack down on so-called diploma mills that sell phony degrees from fictitious universities or counterfeit degrees from real schools.

List identifies buyers of fake college degrees

(7/29/2008) Hundreds of people working in the military, government and education are on a list of almost 10,000 people who spent $7.3 million buying phony and counterfeit high school and college degrees from a Spokane diploma mill.

Rebecca Nappi: Scarecrow and the diploma mills

(7/20/2008) In the movie "The Wizard of Oz" the Wizard lets Scarecrow in on a little secret about smart people. "They have one thing you haven't got: a diploma. Therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Universitartus Committiartum E Pluribus Unum, I hereby confer upon you the honorary degree of ThD – Doctor of Thinkology."

Our View: Federal legislation needed to curb diploma mills

(7/10/2008) In the United States, 7,298 people bought bogus or counterfeit degrees online from a Spokane diploma mill. Another 9,165 degrees were sold to people in 130 countries. The counterfeit degrees enabled some to get jobs they wouldn't qualify for otherwise. For others, the bogus master's degrees translated to bigger paychecks. And some truly believed the degrees they purchased were legitimate.

Doug Clark: Local government how I love thee?

(7/8/2008) In this Tuesday column, The Doug takes on Mayor Verner's proposed lawn sprinkler rules, diploma millers and customers, and laws on walking while drunk.

Buyers of fake diplomas shielded

(7/6/2008) Operators of a Spokane diploma mill are heading to federal prison, while senior Justice Department officials say they are going to keep secret the names of the 10,815 buyers who used the bogus and counterfeit degrees to get jobs, promotions and enhanced retirements.

Diploma mill nets 3-year sentence

(7/3/2008) Dixie Ellen Randock, the mastermind behind a Spokane-based operation that raked in millions selling more than 10,000 fraudulent high school and college degrees around the world, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in federal prison.

Ex-marshal gets probation in fake diploma case

(7/2/2008) A former supervisor for the U.S. Marshals Service must spend two years on federal probation, complete 80 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine for lying on a federal job promotion application after buying a phony college degree from a Spokane-based diploma mill.

Diploma mill case finished

(4/10/2008) The U.S. attorney's office in Spokane has concluded its prosecution of eight defendants in a diploma mill fraud case, getting guilty pleas from everyone and canceling a trial that had been scheduled for June.

Defendant rejects deal in diploma mill case

(3/28/2008) The final defendant in a Spokane-based diploma mill scheme rejected a plea bargain Thursday, apparently because she faces six months in jail instead of home confinement, a judge was told.

Woman behind diploma mill scheme pleads guilty to federal charges

(3/27/2008) Dixie Ellen Randock, a high-school dropout who masterminded a Spokane-based Internet scheme to sell bogus high school and university degrees around the world, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

Federal task force had run-in with Chico

(3/7/2008) His capture after biting three people last week wasn't Chico's first contact with law enforcement.

In brief: Diploma mill copycat's plea deal rejected

(2/29/2008) A Spokane man charged this week in connection with a "copycat" diploma mill operation changed his mind Thursday and did not plead guilty as he previously indicated to federal wire and mail fraud charges.

Copycat diploma mill charges filed

(2/28/2008) A federal task force that's three years into investigating a Spokane-based diploma mill ring filed new charges this week against a man who is accused of running a copycat online university after working for Dixie Randock.

Attorney: Feds knew about fake degree

(2/14/2008) The U.S. Marshals Service promoted David F. Brodhagen to a supervisory position in Spokane even after learning he had bought a bogus college degree from a fake online university, a court document says.

Judge OKs trip to Liberia for lawyers

(2/9/2008) U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko on Friday authorized a team of defense attorneys and investigators to travel from Spokane to Africa at taxpayer expense to take sworn statements from Liberian officials in preparation for a forthcoming diploma mill trial.

Education bill also targets diploma mills

(2/9/2008) The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a higher-education reauthorization bill that includes language to crack down on so-called diploma mills that sell fraudulent degrees and transcripts.

Recipient of fake degree will plead guilty

(2/6/2008) A former deputy U.S. marshal who bought a bogus college degree online and used it to get a $15,000--a-year job promotion is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal crime next week in U.S. District Court in Spokane, public records show.

Judge considers Liberia trip in diploma mill case

(2/6/2008) A federal judge in Spokane heard arguments Tuesday over whether to send a team of defense attorneys, prosecutors and investigators to Africa at taxpayers' expense as part of the upcoming criminal trial of the accused operators of a diploma mill.

Diploma buyer charged

(1/8/2008) A former deputy U.S. marshal who held a supervisory post in Spokane faces a federal criminal charge for allegedly using a bogus college degree he bought on the Internet to get a $16,000-a-year job promotion.

Court brief cites major universities

(1/8/2008) Operators of a Spokane-based diploma mill were counterfeiting and selling degrees and transcripts from some of the largest universities in the United States, in addition to cranking out degrees from fictitious online universities, new court filings say.

Liberia trip sought in diploma fraud case

(12/11/2007) Defense attorneys for four remaining defendants in a Spokane-based diploma mill case want to travel to Liberia to depose seven of that country's high-ranking officials, including a Supreme Court justice.

Agents' ruse argued at evidence hearing

(11/17/2007) Accused diploma mill operators Dixie and Steve Randock, of Colbert, told a federal judge they believed a hallway adjoining their leased Post Falls office suite was the designated private storage space for their companies.