1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,760 Speaker 1: Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,760 Speaker 2: Saren, Yes, over your sar. Yes. 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 3: Do you know what's ridiculous? 4 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 2: I do? Good question, Elizabeth. Okay, Tommy Smothers recently passed away, 5 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 2: I know, alright, Yeah, so they had the Smothers Brother 6 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 2: Comedy Hour. Do you ever know about what Keith Moon 7 00:00:19,079 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 2: did on that show? No? So the who we're supposed 8 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 2: to perform My Generation? Right, so you got all of them? 9 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 2: Rodger Daltrey, Keith Moon is the drummer. Townshend's guitarist, right, 10 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 2: so Moon bass drum. Right, He's got a little thing 11 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:37,159 Speaker 2: set up or the end of the song and when 12 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:38,920 Speaker 2: it gets to the end of the song he hits 13 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 2: it and the drum explodes. He had loaned up to 14 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 2: blow up live on TV. 15 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 3: It's very Keith. 16 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: When I say blow up, I mean like Roger Daltrey 17 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 2: gets thrown at the camera right. The towns and Pete 18 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 2: Townsend's hair is like on fire, singing smoking when they 19 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 2: can when the smoke abates right now, and whistle cool 20 00:00:57,920 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 2: as any bass player's just standing there like look whatever 21 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 2: of that, because go and get me a drink. Right anyway, 22 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 2: I thought that was absolutely amazing. Because also Keith Moon 23 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 2: he got shrapnel in his own arm, so it played 24 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 2: back ris on it right? Who never invited on TV 25 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:14,920 Speaker 2: to do that type of show ever again? Yeah, so 26 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,119 Speaker 2: there you go. Temmy Smothers, all right, rip and gave 27 00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 2: us that all right Moon? Right? Ridiculous? 28 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,600 Speaker 3: Huh that is ridiculous blowing up a set for effect. 29 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 3: Do you know what else is ridiculous? Elizabeth fraud zaren 30 00:01:28,680 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 3: it's fraud. This is ridiculous crime A podcast about absurd 31 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:57,160 Speaker 3: and outrageous capers, heists and cons. It's always ninety nine 32 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 3: percent murder free and one hundred percent ridiculus. 33 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:01,280 Speaker 2: Oh you damn. 34 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 3: Do you know what I have in common with Lord Kelvin? 35 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 3: The famous physicist Adam Smith, the father of economics, seven 36 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 3: Nobel laureates, three British Prime ministers, and actor Gerard Butler. 37 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 2: A love of argyle socks and air bathing clothes. 38 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,600 Speaker 3: We are all University of Glasgow graduates. Yes, so I 39 00:02:24,639 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 3: have my master's degree from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. 40 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 3: Yes you do, thank you, thank you so much. Did 41 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,119 Speaker 3: you know the place opened in fourteen fifty. 42 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,359 Speaker 2: One, as in like the Middle Ages. 43 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,120 Speaker 3: Yes, it's ancient ancient. 44 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 2: I know, it's one of the oldest in the world. 45 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 2: If not, I know, I think Bologna is a little 46 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 2: bit older. 47 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's one of what they call the ancient universities 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:47,240 Speaker 3: of Europe. Lots of notable Alumniamian you do that long. 49 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, figure you're going to hit a couple. 50 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 3: And it wasn't easy to get in, and it wasn't 51 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 3: easy to get the degree with highest distinction. 52 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 2: Look at you. 53 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 3: But and it's not just like the diploma. It's everything 54 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 3: behind it, you know. It's the effort that I put 55 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 3: in so I can display certain skills as a result. 56 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 2: Sure, and then also the imprimature of that school tells 57 00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:07,399 Speaker 2: us that you did all this exactly. 58 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 3: So people are proud of their alma maters. 59 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 2: Yes, their sole mother. 60 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 3: Jim Mann, chief Information Technology Officer of the State of Kansas. 61 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 3: He was proud of his degree in business administration from 62 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 3: the University of Devonshire. Jim Man Jim Man. George Way, 63 00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:31,680 Speaker 3: President of Liberia and a retired Liberian football player. He 64 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 3: was proud of his degree from Parkwood University. 65 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 2: Football soccer, not football football. 66 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,920 Speaker 3: Yeah. Costas Margaritis, he's a Greek politician and he's a 67 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 3: member of the New Democracy Party there. He has a 68 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 3: degree from Shelbourne University. 69 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 2: He's very proud of it, of course. 70 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 3: Leonard Ingram aka bag One Raw Africa. He's a self 71 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 3: proclaimed anger management specialist. He's writing a bunch of books. 72 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 3: He was on that Penn and Teller TV show. 73 00:03:57,840 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 2: Oh interesting. 74 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 3: He's proud of his PA philosophy from glen. 75 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: Cullen University, Glenn Collin. 76 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 3: Who are these people's. 77 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 2: Eric, Elizabeth? Are these friends of yours? 78 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 3: No, these people are phonies. University of Devonshire, Parkwood University, 79 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,720 Speaker 3: Shelbourne University, glen Cullen University. They're all fake colleges. 80 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 2: Oh, but the people are real. 81 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,600 Speaker 3: People are real. The colleges are faked. 82 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:21,559 Speaker 2: So they're not like AI people. 83 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 3: No, they're real people with fake diplomas. Got These colleges 84 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 3: are fronts for one diploma mill operation called university degree program. 85 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,440 Speaker 2: Wait one. They have all these different flavors of college 86 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 2: you can pick. 87 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 3: The Chronicle of Higher Education called this the quote Granddaddy 88 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 3: of diploma mills. And so we'll get to this particular 89 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:42,960 Speaker 3: operation later, but right now, I want to give you 90 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 3: some background. 91 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 2: Please, I love background. 92 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 3: What is a diploma Mill's. 93 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 2: Errand Elizabeth, what is a diploma mill? 94 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:53,720 Speaker 3: Well, in today's society, Webster's Dictionary defines diploma mill as 95 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 3: quote a usually unregulated institution of higher education granting degrees 96 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 3: with few or no academic requirements. So it's a business 97 00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 3: that sells illegitimate diplomas for bogus degrees. 98 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 2: Ah, degrees, those are important, I hear there. 99 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, they're kind of uh sometimes. 100 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 2: So people use them all the time to leverage things 101 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 2: they do. 102 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: That is true. And so some of these diploma mills 103 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 3: they claim that they offer credit. 104 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:20,720 Speaker 2: For prior learning, credit for prior learning, and. 105 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:22,600 Speaker 3: That's a legitimate thing, but it has to be very 106 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 3: carefully documented with like a confirmed method of conversion from 107 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:28,920 Speaker 3: experience to academic credit. 108 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 2: So like if I was a un interpreter working in French, 109 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 2: like the Francophone on the African continent, I could go 110 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 2: in and get like French five credits, sure, something like that, 111 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 2: something like that. 112 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 3: Okay, So some of the diploma mills they don't even 113 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 3: bother with any kind of conversion. Most of them also 114 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 3: have a fake a creditor that make it look like 115 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 3: there's some sort of quality assurance. 116 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:51,040 Speaker 4: Ah. 117 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 3: And so you hear degree mill and diploma mill and 118 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 3: they aren't the same thing. 119 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:55,719 Speaker 2: Interesting. 120 00:05:55,839 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, degree mill issues diplomas from unaccredited in institutions that 121 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 3: may be legal in some states but are generally illegitimate. 122 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 2: That's a degree mill, so this is like a medical 123 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 2: degree from a school in Grenada totally. 124 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,360 Speaker 3: And then the diploma mill they issue counterfeit diplomas bearing 125 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:15,159 Speaker 3: the names of real universities. 126 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 4: Uh huh. 127 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 3: Sometimes there's an overlap in that I mentioned accreditation. Yes, 128 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 3: diploma mills, they're usually shopping degrees from colleges that aren't 129 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 3: accredited by a recognized institutional accreditor, and accreditors apparently like 130 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,720 Speaker 3: they keep colleges accountable to set standards. 131 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,400 Speaker 2: I'm glad you bring this up. I know all about it. Credits, Elizabeth, 132 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,680 Speaker 2: I could tell you, I could wax poetic about it, 133 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 2: because it's a really integral component of the academic experience, 134 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Speaker 2: and people don't understand that colleges with us is accreditation. 135 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 2: They could pose as we're seeing as anybody, and the 136 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 2: creditor actually guarantees your education in a way as much 137 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 2: as your teacher does. 138 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 3: Sure, No, I don't know. 139 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:58,800 Speaker 2: Well, I'm glad you've brought that up, and. 140 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 3: It's like I should say that because a college is 141 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 3: unaccredited doesn't mean it's bad or fake. 142 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,039 Speaker 2: No, so you know it. 143 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 3: But accreditation is. 144 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:09,960 Speaker 2: Accreditation is like basically a certification of this stuff is 145 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 2: what it says. 146 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 3: And I think from my understanding, it's generally like sort 147 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 3: of gate keeping federal financial aids. Interesting up of yeah, 148 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 3: you should have known these things. For diploma mills, since 149 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 3: they don't have the seal of approval from an accreditor, 150 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,000 Speaker 3: they have to do other stuff that's going to make 151 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 3: them look legit to students. So some will say that 152 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 3: they're fully accredited, but the accreditor is another scam on 153 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 3: its own. There are accreditation mills, and so they make 154 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 3: their websites look legit and they claim to be approved 155 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 3: by the government like you know an accreditor would be, 156 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,360 Speaker 3: and then the college can link to that fake accreditor 157 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,200 Speaker 3: and students think it's all on the up and up, 158 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 3: of course, and other times the fake college will say 159 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 3: that they are internationally recognized by organizations like UNESCO, and 160 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 3: that sounds impressive. Sure, problem is that UNESCO has no 161 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 3: authority to recognize or credit colleges cultural sites completely. Oh 162 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 3: that sounds you know, bad though, so some diploma and 163 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 3: degree mills they like they draw students in by telling 164 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:17,560 Speaker 3: them that work history professional education can count towards a degree, 165 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 3: which in some cases can't. Like you said, they might 166 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 3: even have the student write a dissertation or a thesis. 167 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 3: Of course, the papers are usually like four pages long 168 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 3: and don't require a defense. Okay, just turn it in. 169 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,600 Speaker 3: Another trick to make the place look legit is to 170 00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 3: use the following language in their promotional materials. They'll say 171 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 3: degrees are quote attested and sealed for authenticity by government 172 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:42,440 Speaker 3: appointed notary. 173 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 2: You're supposed to get a sealed notarized. 174 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 3: All it means is that the signature on the document 175 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:50,600 Speaker 3: has been verified, so has nothing to do with the 176 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,200 Speaker 3: contents of the document. I could get a replica of 177 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 3: like the Declaration of Independence, sign it in front of 178 00:08:56,520 --> 00:08:59,120 Speaker 3: a notary, get their stamp on it, boom, notarized. 179 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:01,319 Speaker 2: Yes, and the seal of course actually on the paper. 180 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 2: It's not like it's been sealed in wax exactly. I 181 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 2: misunderstood yes, thank you, or that. 182 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,880 Speaker 3: Maybe they say it's sealed most who knows so students 183 00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,240 Speaker 3: they either fall for the dupe or they're into the 184 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,120 Speaker 3: scam because the college uses names that sound legit and 185 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 3: are easily confused with real collegists. Do you remember doctor 186 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 3: Dante yeh. 187 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, babbetizing doctor Donne exactly. 188 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 3: He won his song one best song. He ran a 189 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 3: diploma mill. If you'll recall Columbia State University, because I 190 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 3: talked about it. Then. Distance learning was all the rage 191 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 3: in the late nineties, so he did correspondence courses by mail. 192 00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 3: He also did some online learning there, and he operated 193 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,959 Speaker 3: out of a mail drop in Louisiana. It's the one 194 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 3: that higher ed expert John Bear said, quote Columbia State 195 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,560 Speaker 3: University is a complete fake. There's no such university. The 196 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:52,840 Speaker 3: photograph on the cover of their catalog is of Notre 197 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 3: Dame University in Indiana, while administrative office number two three 198 00:09:56,679 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 3: one is a three inch square mailbox. 199 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 2: Well, you know, education come in a lot of different way. 200 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 3: It's not one size fits all. 201 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,280 Speaker 2: What if you're saving money by using pictures of other colleges. 202 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 3: Here's a quick note about that environment very environmental. You're 203 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:18,560 Speaker 3: so conscientious, doctor Bear. Little aside on him. He's listed 204 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 3: all over as a higher education expert. But I also 205 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 3: stumbled onto a higher Education Distance Learning Conspiracy message board. 206 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 3: What there's a post about him? 207 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:31,079 Speaker 2: Okay, say that all again. 208 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:36,200 Speaker 3: Higher Education Distance Learning Conspiracy message Board. It was just 209 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 3: like too much. It was too good, and I was 210 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 3: just like, did someone make this just like to dupe me? 211 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 3: Because it's it's they know I'd think this is hilarious. 212 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,600 Speaker 3: So someone on there wrote this article thing about like 213 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 3: alleging that John Bear is in his real name and 214 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,480 Speaker 3: that he secretly runs diploma mills himself and he's trying 215 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 3: to destroy the competition. Like it was a rabbit hole, 216 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 3: to be sure, and it was weird. And anyway, back 217 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 3: to Colombia, Okay, back to this day my alma mater, 218 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 3: remember a Columbia State University. A six to eight page 219 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:08,080 Speaker 3: thesis got you a master's degree, yes, and at twelve 220 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 3: page one got you a doctorate yes, and then both 221 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 3: degrees could be completed in I don't know, twenty seven 222 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,440 Speaker 3: days a long month average was like two to four months. 223 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 2: Okay, yes, you could get a PhD. 224 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 3: For like three grand and they let you haggle and that. 225 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 3: So he had Columbia State University. Some of the US 226 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 3: diploma mills they use British sounding names. Like the ones 227 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 3: I talked about Earl Year. These are similar but not 228 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 3: identical to the names of. 229 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 2: Actual universe Saint Exeter. 230 00:11:36,320 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 3: Yeah exactly. They do this for two reasons. First, British 231 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:45,559 Speaker 3: universities are seen as like superior, super rigorous. 232 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 2: Of course, yes, it's why we have British sounding actors 233 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 2: always playing in historical movies, because it's a whole Yes, 234 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 2: of course sound British. 235 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 3: And then there's the fact that they're far away and 236 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 3: not likely to be like driven by or visited by 237 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:58,560 Speaker 3: average American. 238 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 2: You can't go and take a self in front of 239 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:02,080 Speaker 2: like the school, exactly. 240 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 3: And so some examples of British sounding names used by 241 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 3: diploma mills are Shaftsbury University, Oh yes, University of Dunham, 242 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:13,239 Speaker 3: Reading University, and Suffield University. 243 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,640 Speaker 2: Wait a minute, it's just like just off. 244 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 3: Higher ed institutions in the US have the UURL suffix 245 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:25,719 Speaker 3: on their websites dot edu. Some diploma mills use an 246 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:31,240 Speaker 3: AC top level domain name like which resembles a genuine 247 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 3: second level academic domain name like AC dot UK. So 248 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 3: like you know, for UK University it's you know, dot 249 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 3: ac dot UK, okay, but the AC is actually the 250 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 3: domain for Ascension Island, and so this has become so 251 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:50,600 Speaker 3: prevalent that legit colleges are starting to register that ac 252 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 3: domain for their institutions just to redirect to their real 253 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,080 Speaker 3: sites to prevent digital scammers from using. 254 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:58,040 Speaker 2: Yeah. Interesting. 255 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,360 Speaker 3: So what's it like to go to a diploma a mill? 256 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:02,240 Speaker 2: Can you actually go to one? 257 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 3: I guess so? Like, you may have to buy textbooks, Okay, 258 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,319 Speaker 3: you might have to take some tests really yeah, whether 259 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:09,960 Speaker 3: those are graded or not, who knows. 260 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:11,960 Speaker 2: But you actually have to pretend to do some of 261 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 2: the work. 262 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 3: Sometimes it depends. It's on the flavor of it. You 263 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:17,119 Speaker 3: may have to write a paper. 264 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 2: And call it a what is this college? 265 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 3: Someone might read it, maybe not, maybe not. I would 266 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,679 Speaker 3: love to get my hands on some of the papers 267 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 3: turned into those places. Yeah, I would probably have an aneurysm. 268 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 3: The programs available are generally pretty squishy squish, I mean, 269 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,760 Speaker 3: they aren't hard sciences. I lean on things that are 270 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 3: like more vague or subjective or esoteric, and like sometimes 271 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 3: it's total pseudoscience, like the gay like PhDs in aromatherapy 272 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,680 Speaker 3: and astrology. Oh yeah, like or anything obscure or lacking 273 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 3: peer review. 274 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 2: My friend and I we invented a fake college for 275 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 2: a while called Sandalwood State College, and we actually offered 276 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 2: degrees in a roma therapy. So yeah, I just wanted 277 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 2: to let you know that I've been working this scam myself, 278 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 2: So go on. 279 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,199 Speaker 3: I taught at a community college that had a name 280 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 3: very similar to a university that was well known, and 281 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:14,680 Speaker 3: there were a lot of confusion. 282 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:16,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I could see that who. 283 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 3: Teaches at these diplomas. 284 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 2: Teaches at these elizabeth A. 285 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,080 Speaker 3: Student's never going to meet them because you know, they 286 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 3: don't have a campus. No one's actually going going. No, 287 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 3: they just stand out, so they just sign off on 288 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 3: assignments or like for a price, a student can get 289 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 3: a reference letter. It's like in a la krte systems 290 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 3: like this. 291 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:38,520 Speaker 2: Yes, why not if there are. 292 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 3: Professors employed, their certification to teach is either a degree 293 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,240 Speaker 3: from that very fake institution or something from somewhere else 294 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 3: that's totally unrelated to any of the received degrees. So 295 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 3: it's like if I started teaching advanced mathematics at prof 296 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 3: and bottom Glen University, like I'd sign you off on anything. 297 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, but like, do you ever have any like disgraced 298 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 2: teachers who've like also fall into this where they're like, 299 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 2: you know, basically cashing out. 300 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 3: Probably exactly. Well, and like if there's a faculty directory 301 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,880 Speaker 3: on the college website with like really robust professor bios, 302 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 3: it's likely stolen from the website of a real university. 303 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 3: See you wonder, like who you know, what other places 304 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 3: are they? No professors means no classrooms. 305 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 2: Really. 306 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 3: In order to be accredited, colleges have to provide library 307 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 3: and student support services, and for online work, there has 308 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 3: to be evidence of what they call regular and substantive interaction. 309 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,360 Speaker 2: Okay, regular and substitute so they actually have to face 310 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 2: face to face time. 311 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 3: Not face to face, but for like distance education, zoom calls, 312 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,800 Speaker 3: calls present any kind of communication with. 313 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:45,840 Speaker 2: Your instructor and your fellow students. 314 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, you're not just like plugging in and they do 315 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:49,200 Speaker 3: automated tests. 316 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 2: Let me tell you this is very important to accreditors. 317 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 2: They're always talking about student outcomes, and this is something 318 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 2: that's very important to really. Yeah, yeah, important because in 319 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,400 Speaker 2: the face to FaceTime is a way for you to 320 00:15:58,440 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 2: gauge that. 321 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 3: Okay, well, well, all that evidence of interaction isn't true. 322 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:09,120 Speaker 3: Obviously at a mill, there's no library, there's no registrars office, 323 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 3: no counselors, no labs, and then the address for the 324 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:15,080 Speaker 3: most part is like a postbox and a male forwarding 325 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 3: service or like a suite number. 326 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 2: So well great, though if they had like a swim team, 327 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 2: like they have nothing to go down to the pool, 328 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 2: they actually have people there. 329 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,479 Speaker 3: Swing sweatshirts made for these fake these fake colleges. 330 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: Tell you, Sandwood State College, I can get your merch. 331 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 2: We have the whole We already got the thing going. 332 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:33,560 Speaker 2: I should have told you about this early. 333 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 3: So like when someone writes a doctoral thesis or a 334 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 3: dissertation at a legitimate university, it's available from University Microfilms International, 335 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 3: which is a national repository, or the institution's own library. 336 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 3: That's not true for the mills. At most colleges, the 337 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 3: motto for faculty is publisher parish, so you have to 338 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,280 Speaker 3: be writing scholarly articles, conducting research, or for the arts 339 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 3: creating works in order to keep your job. At diploma mills, 340 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:01,920 Speaker 3: there's either none of them or it's faked. And a 341 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,960 Speaker 3: red flag is that tuition and fees are charged by 342 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,359 Speaker 3: the degree, so students don't pay by units per semester. 343 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,000 Speaker 3: You just do a flat fee for the whole thing. 344 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,919 Speaker 2: That's a problem. Okay, remember that that's a red flag. 345 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:16,919 Speaker 3: They don't market themselves at college fairs or like in 346 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,880 Speaker 3: regular areas. It's generally like spam emails, and the emails 347 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 3: often like urge students and role now before tuition or 348 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 3: feesing are increased. That's not how it works. 349 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 2: It's like University of Phoenix. Part of this. Would you 350 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 2: say that they. 351 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 3: A touchy subject. They're not technically there are they're not 352 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,000 Speaker 3: technically we'll put it that way. So they but they 353 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 3: urge you to get the early bird special, you know, 354 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 3: and roll now. The marketing materials, the college catalog, the 355 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 3: website usually have all sorts of like spelling and grammar errors. 356 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,439 Speaker 3: And they love putting stuff in Latin. 357 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:52,760 Speaker 2: Of course, my. 358 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 3: Diplomas in Latin. By the way, did I get scammed? 359 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 3: But so that's it makes it look fancy, it puts 360 00:17:59,119 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 3: an edge on it. 361 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,520 Speaker 2: So's the patina you want exactly put it in Latin. 362 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 3: So we know about like what a diploma or degree 363 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:10,560 Speaker 3: mill looks like. Take a break, we come back. I'm 364 00:18:10,600 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 3: going to tell you about some of the biggest defenders 365 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:36,359 Speaker 3: and how the law came a call in welcome. Hey, hey, 366 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 3: diploma mills. 367 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:38,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's Alma maters. 368 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 3: We've been around forever. In two thousand and four, FBI 369 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 3: Special Agent Autho Alan Eazel. 370 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 2: White, what yeah, is he also think ezel? Okay, I 371 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 2: love see. 372 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:54,119 Speaker 3: My neck on my back testify to the House Subcommittee 373 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 3: on twenty first Century Competitiveness. Quote. Degree mills are not 374 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 3: just a recent problem, He's all told the committee. We 375 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 3: have had them in the United States since about eighteen 376 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 3: thirty five. As long as we have a credential conscious 377 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 3: society where the degree you possess gets you the promotion 378 00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 3: or salary increase, then we will have degree mills. This 379 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 3: is education fraud and no different from any other fraud. 380 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,479 Speaker 2: Eighteen the camera, Yeah, we had agree mills longer than 381 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 2: we've had cameras. 382 00:19:24,359 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 3: Yes, exactly. In nineteen seventy eight, Mike Wallace reported for 383 00:19:28,520 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 3: sixty minutes. 384 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 2: Yes, oh yeah, love. Yeah. 385 00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 3: He did an expose where he interviewed the owner of 386 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 3: California pacifica University and a suspected diploma mill, and the 387 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:45,919 Speaker 3: guy was arrested mid interview, and he like wound up 388 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,880 Speaker 3: pleading guilty to multiple cuts of mail fraud. He did time, 389 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 3: did Mike time that he did then find them? 390 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, basically, I'll tell you this is when we're recording, 391 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:58,199 Speaker 2: show up. An hour after I get set up. 392 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 3: Authorities shut down Dallas State College in Texas in nineteen 393 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 3: seventy five. The owners turned around and almost immediately opened 394 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:13,280 Speaker 3: up as Jackson State University in California in California. Yeah, 395 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,000 Speaker 3: I like Jackson up in the Golden I don't know, 396 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,400 Speaker 3: I think so. Then the post office shut down their 397 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 3: mail there and they disappeared, but they popped up again 398 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,040 Speaker 3: as John Quincy Adams University in Oregon. 399 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:26,880 Speaker 2: One of this wacked bowl. 400 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,199 Speaker 3: That is the best remscription of this total whackable. It 401 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,359 Speaker 3: took twelve more years before the Dallas State perps were 402 00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:37,400 Speaker 3: finally brought to justice. It was the FBI and their 403 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:40,359 Speaker 3: joint task force with the IRS and the US Postal 404 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 3: Service SEA. They done did it because all this stuff 405 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:46,320 Speaker 3: is through the mail. Yeah, there's this little something that 406 00:20:46,359 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 3: they all got together and called Operation Diploma Scam, otherwise 407 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 3: known as dip Scam, Operation dip Scam. So for eleven 408 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 3: years they cracked down on these sixteen federal search warrants, 409 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 3: nineteen federal grand jury indictments and twenty one convictions. Wow, 410 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 3: pretty good. Along the way, the head of operations for 411 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:14,960 Speaker 3: Operation dip Scam, Special Agent Easel, he he bought. He 412 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:20,600 Speaker 3: bought personally ten bachelor's degrees, nineteen master's degrees, four PhDs, 413 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,000 Speaker 3: and two mds. He's so ed, I mean he really is. 414 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 3: He's a scholar, anagezic. His wall is filled according to Ezel. 415 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,359 Speaker 2: Frame Business, I'm coming. They're like, oh, we're getting to both. 416 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,199 Speaker 3: There were more than two thousand diploma mills at the 417 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 3: time and more than two hundred unrecognized A creditors, and 418 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 3: some of them were operated by the same person. 419 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:42,560 Speaker 2: You know, I'm getting you for your birthday, giving you 420 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,240 Speaker 2: a hand came suitable for free. 421 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 3: I need a PhD. So and then I can just 422 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:51,080 Speaker 3: be doctor Dutton and let use that for everything. 423 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 2: Your last name you pronounced. 424 00:21:54,080 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 3: It like of the tuna. So it all. It all 425 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 3: started in nineteen eighty the dip scan too, when the 426 00:22:03,840 --> 00:22:08,399 Speaker 3: Charlotte Field Office of the FBI started looking into Southeastern 427 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:13,439 Speaker 3: University in Greenville, South Carolina. This sounds like an established, 428 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:21,120 Speaker 3: lauded university, Southeastern University green Law for four yards. It's 429 00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 3: actually a degree mill. Run out of a small two 430 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 3: bedroom house. And so the man who owned and ran 431 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 3: the place actually invited Ezell and another agent who posed 432 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,960 Speaker 3: as a student to tour the operation. 433 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 2: Come over to the student union living room. 434 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 3: So he's like, come into my little two bedroom house. 435 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,159 Speaker 3: He shows them the student records. 436 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 2: Here's creek row. 437 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 3: He shows them the fake diplomas, the seals, the ribbons. 438 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 3: All of this is later going to get seized by 439 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,400 Speaker 3: the FBI, and so he's just laying it out here. Yeah, 440 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,880 Speaker 3: so like pickup color of the ribbon. And seventy one 441 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 3: of Southeastern's six hundred and twenty quote graduates were eloy 442 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,200 Speaker 3: by federal, state, or local governments. 443 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:04,920 Speaker 2: Wowe wait a minute. 444 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, so like almost we're getting close to a third. Yeah, 445 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:11,639 Speaker 3: so much for a vetting process, right, So some of 446 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:13,760 Speaker 3: the students they're in on the con they wanted to 447 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 3: use the diploma to get a raised secure a specific 448 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 3: yet others were a little naivete There was a security 449 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:23,560 Speaker 3: guard in Texas. He said he bought a BA in 450 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 3: law enforcement from Southwestern University in Tucson for five hundred 451 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:31,639 Speaker 3: bucks in nineteen eighty two because he quote wanted something 452 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 3: to hang on my wall. And feel proud about. 453 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 2: Have just bought a star. I mean, that's a similar scam. 454 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 3: So what clued him off that the diploma wasn't legit 455 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 3: was that his transcripts showed that he got good grades 456 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,399 Speaker 3: and courses like trigonometry, but he didn't take any trig 457 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:51,040 Speaker 3: or most of the other courses listed on the transcript 458 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 3: with his name on it. So he took some like 459 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 3: he filled out tests like correspondence education, and they were 460 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 3: just like whatever, they have one transcript they send out 461 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,639 Speaker 3: to people. So that's the thing, though, you aren't just 462 00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:06,159 Speaker 3: really buying the diploma, you're buying the transcripts. Yes, you know, 463 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 3: that's what you really need to get the job. 464 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 2: That's going to be something they need proof. 465 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, if you're a if you're in an industry where 466 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,479 Speaker 3: they want to know, like you know, your degrees, generally 467 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 3: they want to see the transcripts. 468 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:18,920 Speaker 2: Like civil engineering. 469 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 3: Like civil engineering, they're not going to say, just take 470 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 3: a picture of your diploma. Yeah, they want the transcripts, 471 00:24:25,119 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 3: and so dip scam. They shut down twenty of diploma mills. 472 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:33,920 Speaker 3: Nineteen eighty three, a seventy nine year old Arkansas man 473 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,240 Speaker 3: named George Lyon. He got sentenced to a year in 474 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 3: prison and find two thousand dollars after he sold Agent 475 00:24:39,680 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 3: Eazl five phony degrees. He's all said, quote, I complained 476 00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 3: to him because a diploma I'd gotten in the mail 477 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,399 Speaker 3: was damaged. He sat there and forged another one for me, 478 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 3: right on the spot. He's like, yeah, it's fine, give me. 479 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:53,360 Speaker 2: I got a good pen. 480 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,440 Speaker 3: So nineteen eighty four, John Blazer pleaded guilty to mail 481 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 3: fraud for sending out degrees from his bogus to universities 482 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 3: of East Georgia and the Bahama Islands. 483 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 2: But wait, his name is real John Blazer. 484 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 3: John Blazer, Wow Blaze. 485 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 2: And so next time my freestyle, that's what I'm going 486 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 2: to be rhymes of Blazer. Oh go on. 487 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 3: So he got two years in prison. The investigations they're 488 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:21,280 Speaker 3: slow going because it can take a couple of years 489 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 3: years with those Yeah, it can take a couple of 490 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,120 Speaker 3: years to prove up mail and wire fraud. And then 491 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,719 Speaker 3: by that time these collegiate con artists they've moved on. 492 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:31,479 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, they set up the new location, whack them 493 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,680 Speaker 3: all and they get things rolling. Charles Durham of Seneca, 494 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 3: South Carolina, he got charged with mail fraud in connection 495 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,080 Speaker 3: with three diploma. 496 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,560 Speaker 2: Mills, am I noticing a trend that in the South trend. Okay, 497 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,800 Speaker 2: I just wanted in South Carolina, South Carolina specifically, but 498 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:45,719 Speaker 2: I did notice a lot. 499 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's questionable. He had this interesting defense of his 500 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,800 Speaker 3: diploma mills. He said that his diplomas, which cost one 501 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,040 Speaker 3: thousand dollars for a doctorate, were only quote expensive novelties. 502 00:25:57,520 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 3: It's like something you get from Spencer's. 503 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 2: Gifts when you go to the pennies stamped and it 504 00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 2: says like, oh, you're at the you know whatever, Seattle. Yeah, 505 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,480 Speaker 2: like the skylines his life, that Alma. 506 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 3: But at diploma. His lawyer said, quote people who bought 507 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,399 Speaker 3: these diplomas knew exactly what they were getting, and I 508 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:15,679 Speaker 3: don't think the FBI can show otherwise. Well, yeah, but 509 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:20,360 Speaker 3: you're still selling them. Operation dip Scam's first targets were 510 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,400 Speaker 3: actually fake medical schools. So when you buy a fake 511 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,639 Speaker 3: degree in like numerology or criminal justice, you know you're 512 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 3: duping an employer or a customer, But at the end 513 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,479 Speaker 3: of the day, there's like no physical harm. That's not 514 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 3: true with fake medical schools at all. That's dangerous. 515 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,120 Speaker 2: That's a big oh yeah. 516 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,160 Speaker 3: And like once the operation was underway, the FBI they're 517 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 3: able to quickly shut down the two worst medical schools, 518 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:48,480 Speaker 3: Johann Kepler School of Medicine and United American Medical College. 519 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,200 Speaker 2: There I know, wait a minute, you're telling me about 520 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 2: medical your patients. 521 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 3: But so Dipscam, though their largest case, came to its 522 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:03,680 Speaker 3: climax in October of nineteen eighty seven. Zarenes close you out. 523 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,120 Speaker 3: I want you to picture it. You are a bailiff 524 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 3: at the Federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a 525 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 3: beautiful October day. The leaves are changing and the air 526 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,199 Speaker 3: is crisp in the Queen City. You are assigned to 527 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 3: Courtroom three. It's day twelve of the trial of seven 528 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 3: defendants charged with mail fraud, aiding at a betting and conspiracy. 529 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 3: They ran a bunch of fake colleges Roosevelt University, Loyola University, 530 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:38,639 Speaker 3: Cromwell University, University of England at Oxford, Lafayette University, DePaul University, 531 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 3: and Southern California University, as well as several fake accrediting agencies. 532 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,360 Speaker 3: They all sounded like legit places to you, but what 533 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:47,280 Speaker 3: you know, whatever. 534 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:48,440 Speaker 2: Northern California University. 535 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:52,639 Speaker 3: Yes, exactly. You've been told that the prosecution plans to 536 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,520 Speaker 3: call a bunch of witnesses and all told more than 537 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 3: one hundred people will testify during the trial. They got 538 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:03,720 Speaker 3: witnesses from Europe testifying England, France, Belgium, German, Holland. It's 539 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 3: a bigin, is what I'm trying to say. So today 540 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:09,439 Speaker 3: hire ed expert John Bear, the Doctor Dante guy and 541 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 3: the conspiracy website. He's appearing as an expert witness and observer. 542 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,560 Speaker 3: You're stationed at the back of the courtroom waiting for 543 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 3: the judge to enter in a trial to begin again 544 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,800 Speaker 3: for the day. As a smattering of folks settle into 545 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,119 Speaker 3: the gallery and attorneys on both sides shuffle papers at 546 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,399 Speaker 3: their desks before the bench, you hear a loud commotion out. 547 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:30,679 Speaker 2: In the hall. Should I be telling people to take 548 00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:31,159 Speaker 2: their seats? 549 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:33,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, well your nosy. So you step out into the hall. 550 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 3: Of course, you and the other court staff knew this 551 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 3: was coming. But in person of works cameras clicking, reporters 552 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 3: shouting questions, supporters singing hymn's, detractors shouting insults, that's all 553 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 3: going on outside the courthouse doors, but you can hear 554 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 3: it from where you are inside. You watch if the 555 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 3: main courthouse doors open, the commotion is thunders. A small 556 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,440 Speaker 3: group of people, flanked by deputies push into the courthouse, 557 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:02,000 Speaker 3: leaving the melee behind. You see two heads in the 558 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,560 Speaker 3: middle of the group, both hairsprayed to beat forty one 559 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:09,400 Speaker 3: face plastered with makeup. You can see the eyelashes a 560 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,959 Speaker 3: mile away. The group smooths themselves out and then slips 561 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,880 Speaker 3: into courtroom two right next to yours. A woman standing 562 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,920 Speaker 3: next to you asks you who that is, Lady. You say, 563 00:29:19,320 --> 00:29:22,160 Speaker 3: we just watched Jim and Tammy fay Baker enter the building. 564 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:26,080 Speaker 3: Ooh who? She asked? Has she been living under a rock? 565 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 3: You tell her that Jim Baker is a televangelist who 566 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:31,400 Speaker 3: builked his flock out of the funds that he used 567 00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:33,720 Speaker 3: them to pay off affairs and live a lavish lifestyle. 568 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,920 Speaker 3: He's in court for embezzlement and fraud an affair. The 569 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 3: woman asks, and right on time, there's another commotion outside 570 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 3: the courtroom. This time, the figure that pushes through the 571 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 3: boisterous crowd and into the silence of the courthouse hallway 572 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 3: is a brunette who looks more like an eighties video 573 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,480 Speaker 3: vixen than a church secretary. That's Jessica Hahn. You tell 574 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 3: the woman next to you the va boom, She replies, 575 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 3: that's who that little torpee guy had an affair, not 576 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:05,000 Speaker 3: an affair. You tell the woman Jessica Han is an 577 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 3: assault victim. You tell her, plain and simple, but you're 578 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 3: pretty sure she'll get crucified in the press. You tell 579 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,840 Speaker 3: the woman that Han got a quarter million dollar payoff 580 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 3: for her silence, and the Charlotte Observer newspaper got winto 581 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 3: the story. Their investigation revealed two sets of books and 582 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 3: a ton of accounting irregularities, and that's what brought them here. 583 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 3: And what's your case, she asks in courtroom three. You 584 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,840 Speaker 3: tell her it's a bunch of fake colleges on trial. Interesting, 585 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,240 Speaker 3: she says, totally, But not as interesting as those bozos, 586 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,840 Speaker 3: you say, gesturing toward courtroom two. Which is why, Aaron, 587 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 3: there's not a whole lot of press coverage of the 588 00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 3: college fraud case. 589 00:30:40,680 --> 00:30:43,200 Speaker 2: Of course, they got overshadowered huge time. 590 00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 3: It is wall to wall Jim and Tammy Fay, both 591 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,640 Speaker 3: locally to Charlotte and nationally as well. So there are 592 00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 3: little pieces leading up to her. 593 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:53,120 Speaker 2: Those are the jat and. 594 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 3: You get the sense that this was the college thing, 595 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 3: was going to be a big story, and then boom 596 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:01,200 Speaker 3: blows up. So two of the minor players at the 597 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,600 Speaker 3: college trial, they had their cases dismissed due to lack 598 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 3: of definitive evidence. The other five main defendants found guilty 599 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 3: by the jury on all twenty seven counts of mail fraud, 600 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 3: aiding at a betting conspiracy. They were sentenced to prison 601 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 3: terms ranging from two to seven years. But again, like 602 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 3: the press was like chugging along, Jim and Tammy fay happen, 603 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 3: everything kind of derails and then it's really only in 604 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 3: like higher education press that you're finding. So remember in 605 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 3: the very top UDP, the University Degree Program, the granddaddy 606 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,880 Speaker 3: of all diploma operational of course, UDP was owned by 607 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 3: Jason and Carolyn Abraham of Brooklyn, New York. They were 608 00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 3: also known by their Hebrew names Yakov and Shia Rochelle. 609 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:46,239 Speaker 3: They started their operation in the nineties nineteen nineties, and 610 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 3: they recruited quote students over the phone from call centers 611 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 3: in Romania in Israel Wow. And they also they didn't 612 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,719 Speaker 3: just sell diplomas, they sold fake international driver's licenses. 613 00:31:57,880 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 2: What. 614 00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:01,959 Speaker 3: Yeah, so the telemarket were paid on commission and they 615 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:05,560 Speaker 3: got performance based bonuses, and they had a lot of power, 616 00:32:05,640 --> 00:32:08,280 Speaker 3: like they could offer degrees on whatever program a study 617 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 3: you wanted. 618 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 2: They're cutting prices. I'll give you a physics degree and 619 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:13,240 Speaker 2: a math degree. 620 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 3: Programs right there. Yeah. So the Abrahams they made sure 621 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 3: that there was background cover for their fake colleges. So 622 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 3: they had all these websites for the institutions. 623 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 5: LA. 624 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,040 Speaker 3: Yes, if you bought a degree, you didn't know which 625 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:30,320 Speaker 3: of these quote universities was going to issue the degree. 626 00:32:30,920 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 3: You just knew I'm getting a PhD in physics. 627 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 2: It's like buying a flight with Delta. 628 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 3: Who knows what plane is going to be at the gate. Well, 629 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 3: that's just like you wait and then when the diploma arrives. Oh, 630 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 3: I guess I went to the Sheffield Yeah, so it's 631 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 3: probably my guess is it's like what whichever one they 632 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 3: have the most blanks left over for? They just the 633 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,360 Speaker 3: top of the pile and UDP. They sent letters to 634 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,720 Speaker 3: customers that said, quote, the policy of not disclosing the 635 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 3: name of the university protects you against unscrupulous individuals who 636 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 3: do not approve of self study and lifestyle improvement. 637 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:09,320 Speaker 2: You want plausible deniability, that's what you're looking at. They said. 638 00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:12,120 Speaker 3: They also did it to avoid quote bad publicity. So 639 00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:16,840 Speaker 3: over the years, UDP sold more than thirty thousand degrees 640 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:18,880 Speaker 3: President of Liberia. That one. 641 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 2: Wait, that was the guy at the top. Okay, I 642 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 2: didn't think it was the real President of Liberia. 643 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:26,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, George Way, President of Liberia. 644 00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:27,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, but I thought that was a scam. Like he 645 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,320 Speaker 2: was like, Hi, I'm George Way, President of Liberia. But 646 00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:31,640 Speaker 2: the real president. 647 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 3: President has one of these degrees. The couple made more 648 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 3: than one hundred million dollars. 649 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 2: One hundred million dollars. 650 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 3: Thirty thousand of these degrees. 651 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:42,880 Speaker 2: One hundred million dollars. 652 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 3: In two thousand and three, all for scam degrees, just 653 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,960 Speaker 3: for paper, just paper and the illusion. And look where 654 00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 3: I got a lot of these people. So the US 655 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:51,560 Speaker 3: Federal Trade Commission. 656 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 2: Have really reduced the value of education. 657 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:58,560 Speaker 3: Completely. They got together with British government authorities, they went 658 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:03,520 Speaker 3: after UDP for both the degrees as well as those 659 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 3: fake international driver's licenses. Oh, got to get them on 660 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:09,800 Speaker 3: that too. And then the FTC and the Israeli government 661 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 3: authorities they shut down the call center operation in Jerusalem. 662 00:34:13,719 --> 00:34:17,839 Speaker 3: The FTC complaints cited quote, deceptive acts or practices in 663 00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:22,399 Speaker 3: or affecting commerce, and the Abrahams. They turned over one 664 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,600 Speaker 3: hundred thousand dollars in profits, and then they promised, we're 665 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:27,759 Speaker 3: going to stop selling degrees, so. 666 00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 2: They got to keep ninety nine million. 667 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 3: Ninety yes, I promised, we're not going to do it again. 668 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 3: Two thousand and four, the Chronicle of Higher Education, they 669 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:42,719 Speaker 3: pointed something out. There was email advertising that looked a 670 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 3: lot like UDPS, and the phone banking was pretty much 671 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 3: identical to their script. And this is after they agreed 672 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:53,960 Speaker 3: to close up shop. And so the Oregon Office of 673 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,319 Speaker 3: Degree Authorization, which I don't know exists, they chimed in 674 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,400 Speaker 3: that some of the websites that appeared to be UDP 675 00:35:00,560 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 3: programs products or clones remained in operation. 676 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 2: Now is the Oregon Office of Degree Authentication? They legitimate? Apparently, 677 00:35:08,120 --> 00:35:14,080 Speaker 2: How will I know who authenticate the authenticators the creditors. 678 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:18,120 Speaker 3: So it looks like this was all reported, but I'm 679 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:20,520 Speaker 3: not really sure what came of it. I couldn't find 680 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 3: anything about them beyond twenty ten, but I'm gonna guess 681 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:24,880 Speaker 3: that they're still out there doing this. 682 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:27,759 Speaker 2: I'm betting that this mole has whacked again. Yes, their way, 683 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 2: however that plays there. 684 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 3: Let's take a break. 685 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:31,440 Speaker 2: Okay. 686 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,120 Speaker 3: When we come back, I'll have more examples of fake 687 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:36,439 Speaker 3: diplomas for you, but these are way more fun. 688 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:59,799 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, hello, hello, Hi, hi Hi. 689 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 3: I've had some smart dogs and cats in my lifetime. 690 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:04,920 Speaker 2: Are you talking to me? 691 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:06,320 Speaker 3: Yeah? No, just talking to myself. 692 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 2: It's just bragging. You're just like, hey, you know what 693 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:09,799 Speaker 2: I like about us? 694 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,440 Speaker 3: Some some weren't so smart, like my dog Casey. It 695 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,839 Speaker 3: was just empty behind the eyes, like a big old rocks, 696 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:18,000 Speaker 3: nothing but a cool breeze. 697 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,160 Speaker 2: I don't see people like that. Yeah, cool breeze between 698 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:20,840 Speaker 2: the years totally. 699 00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,640 Speaker 3: Most of my dogs have been pretty clever, some more 700 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,440 Speaker 3: than others. I had a dog named Wallace who was 701 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:29,560 Speaker 3: a total genius. Yeah, like a shaggy sky terrier mutt. 702 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 3: He'd stand on his hind legs and uses front paws 703 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:34,320 Speaker 3: to open doors with like the turning doorknob. 704 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:36,439 Speaker 2: Oh, turn the doorknob, not just push the door open. 705 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,920 Speaker 3: He would like twist the knob in between his paws 706 00:36:39,960 --> 00:36:42,400 Speaker 3: and then like waltz in a room. It was really 707 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:44,600 Speaker 3: or back it up into him and then walking. It 708 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:46,560 Speaker 3: was really freaky to watch. I love that guy live 709 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:51,920 Speaker 3: to be seventeen years old. Anyway, one of the ways 710 00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 3: that investigators caught diploma mills was by having them issued 711 00:36:56,440 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 3: degrees to pets, because there's no way the fake college 712 00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:01,360 Speaker 3: can dispute that. 713 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:03,920 Speaker 2: Why would they ever be. 714 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:06,160 Speaker 5: Right? 715 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,319 Speaker 3: Well, okay, let's start with the basics. Kitty O'Malley a cat. 716 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,040 Speaker 3: It sounds like a nice girl. Kitty O'Malley was really 717 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:14,799 Speaker 3: a cat named Spanky. 718 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,560 Speaker 2: So in nineteen was a cat named Skanky. 719 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, because you can't put Spanky on the application. His 720 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:28,480 Speaker 3: name Spanky So nineteen seventy three, the Lakeland, Florida newspaper 721 00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:32,839 Speaker 3: The Ledger. Oh yeah, they went to Washington High Academy 722 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:35,640 Speaker 3: to get Kitty a high school diploma. Okay, and the 723 00:37:35,719 --> 00:37:39,040 Speaker 3: newspaper tried to use the diploma to get Kitty into 724 00:37:39,080 --> 00:37:42,239 Speaker 3: like area colleges, but that did That didn't work. They 725 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,959 Speaker 3: needed full transcripts and test scores and like an essay 726 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,279 Speaker 3: or whatever. But the fact that a cat got a 727 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:50,640 Speaker 3: high school diploma was enough for the state Attorney General's 728 00:37:50,680 --> 00:37:52,120 Speaker 3: office to launch an investigation. 729 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 2: From this one news story. 730 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:56,400 Speaker 3: Yeah wow, Another high school grad by dubious means was 731 00:37:56,480 --> 00:38:00,600 Speaker 3: Oreo Collins born in two thousand and seven, or was 732 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:04,280 Speaker 3: or is? I don't I probably was a tuxedo cat, 733 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,040 Speaker 3: and those are so cute. I know a tuxedo cat 734 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:10,560 Speaker 3: named Penny. Oreo, which is not a particularly original name 735 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:14,359 Speaker 3: for a tuxedo cat, got a diploma from Jefferson High 736 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 3: School online in two thousand and nine. And obviously they 737 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,520 Speaker 3: lied about our age. Who got this cat a diploma? 738 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,640 Speaker 3: As a two year old gets a high school diploma? 739 00:38:22,680 --> 00:38:23,040 Speaker 3: What is that? 740 00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:24,040 Speaker 2: Intelligent? 741 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,400 Speaker 3: This guy, Kelvin Collins, he worked for the Better Business 742 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,200 Speaker 3: Bureau of Central Georgia and he was conducting a sting. 743 00:38:31,680 --> 00:38:36,040 Speaker 3: Busted got him because of old Oreo Collins. Another high 744 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:40,960 Speaker 3: school grad, Mollie last name redacted. February of twenty twelve. 745 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:44,960 Speaker 3: Reporters from Houston television station KHO. You they got. 746 00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 2: A investigative news team. 747 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:50,080 Speaker 3: Uh huh. They got a high school diploma and official 748 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,880 Speaker 3: transcript from Lincoln Academy for their photographer's bassett hound. Mollie 749 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:59,520 Speaker 3: and basket hounds are cute, but they're also potentially really stinky. 750 00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:02,800 Speaker 2: I just editorial market. 751 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 3: Yeah, So the action news team, they paid three hundred 752 00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:08,960 Speaker 3: dollars after filling out what they called a quote laughable 753 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:13,200 Speaker 3: easy take home test. The news team was tipped off 754 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:16,520 Speaker 3: to Lincoln Academy by a homeschooling advocacy group that was 755 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,520 Speaker 3: trying to like root out phony operations that makes homeschooling 756 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 3: look bad. Next up Wally Brancato. Wally got an associates 757 00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:28,440 Speaker 3: degree that was in two thousand and four. A man 758 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 3: named Peter Broncado with the Albany, New York television. 759 00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,520 Speaker 2: Oilation Wally and Peter Broncato. 760 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:40,719 Speaker 3: Oh you'll find out WRGB. Peter, he worked for this 761 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 3: television station. He applied to and received an associate's degree 762 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:48,600 Speaker 3: from Almeida University. See Peter didn't, but his dog Wally did. 763 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:49,640 Speaker 2: I got you. Yeah. 764 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,720 Speaker 3: So here's what Broncado put on Wally's application. Quote plays 765 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,520 Speaker 3: with the kids every day, teaches them to interact better 766 00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:59,839 Speaker 3: with each other, teaches them responsibilities like feeding the dog. 767 00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:06,040 Speaker 3: And so Almeida University granted Wally a quote life experience 768 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:08,600 Speaker 3: associate degree in childhood development. 769 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:11,120 Speaker 2: Yes, early childhood development, I imagine. 770 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,480 Speaker 3: Yeah. The investigation aired and it was a hit. Almeida University, 771 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,640 Speaker 3: though was not pleased, no, no. They said that Broncato 772 00:40:17,719 --> 00:40:21,160 Speaker 3: perjured himself by creating a false identity using a fabricated 773 00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:24,399 Speaker 3: name and date of birth. They're like sue me, sue 774 00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:28,680 Speaker 3: you Oka and Almeida University representative said quote, he completed 775 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:32,000 Speaker 3: an application that included a background of the following eight 776 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:36,320 Speaker 3: years tutoring pre K children, curriculum design and development, teaching, 777 00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:40,360 Speaker 3: coping skills, and volunteer coaching. I say dogs can do 778 00:40:40,440 --> 00:40:41,800 Speaker 3: all of those things totally. 779 00:40:41,840 --> 00:40:43,080 Speaker 2: And I also I think that you can get a 780 00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:43,560 Speaker 2: degree for this. 781 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:47,839 Speaker 3: You totally can't. Wally, Though it popped up again in 782 00:40:47,880 --> 00:40:50,480 Speaker 3: March two thousand and eight, he didn't transfer and get 783 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:52,880 Speaker 3: a bachelor. So he was featured in a Lake Geneva, 784 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:57,319 Speaker 3: Wisconsin mayoral campaign political cartoon. It was a picture of 785 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:00,440 Speaker 3: him and a dialogue bubble that said, I grat sduated 786 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:05,400 Speaker 3: with Bill Chessen because mayoral candidate Bill Chessen listed a 787 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:10,239 Speaker 3: bachelor's degree from Almeda University among his accomplishments. And I'm 788 00:41:10,280 --> 00:41:15,080 Speaker 3: also curious was Bill Chesson ak C registered Bill? 789 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:21,719 Speaker 2: So whoever was the political operation so caught that one 790 00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:24,120 Speaker 2: news and that you need that person in your. 791 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:30,360 Speaker 3: Operation and that's a great college. Yeah, the Zara and 792 00:41:30,400 --> 00:41:36,279 Speaker 3: I'd like you to meet Zoe dkatz Zoe Certified Hypnotherapists 793 00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:41,440 Speaker 3: Zoe dcats Zoe the cat in German was owned by 794 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:47,160 Speaker 3: psychologist Steve Eichel, and Michael got a psychotherapy certification for 795 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:51,640 Speaker 3: his cat from the American Psychotherapy Association, as well as 796 00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:56,359 Speaker 3: a bunch of hypnotherapy credentials from other organizations. Zoe has 797 00:41:56,360 --> 00:42:00,760 Speaker 3: become a cited case study for those researching credential scams, 798 00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:02,680 Speaker 3: and she's even appeared in textbooks. 799 00:42:02,719 --> 00:42:04,520 Speaker 2: Wow Zoe, look what she can do. 800 00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:09,479 Speaker 3: Another hypno cat, George Jackson, registered hypnotherapist. George is also 801 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,120 Speaker 3: a cat. In two thousand and nine, Chris Jackson, host 802 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:17,560 Speaker 3: of the BBC show Inside Out Northeast and Cumbria, registered 803 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:21,439 Speaker 3: his cat, George, as a hypnotherapist. Chris created a fake 804 00:42:21,480 --> 00:42:24,960 Speaker 3: certificate from a non existing institution and used it to 805 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:30,360 Speaker 3: register with three professional organizations, the British Board of Neurolinguistic Programming, 806 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:36,480 Speaker 3: the United Fellowship of Hypnotherapists and the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association. 807 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:40,560 Speaker 3: None of them checked the transcripts or the records. They 808 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:43,400 Speaker 3: just certified the cat are you kidding me? And this 809 00:42:43,520 --> 00:42:46,680 Speaker 3: was part of a BBC investigation who consulted on the 810 00:42:46,719 --> 00:42:51,280 Speaker 3: show Steve Eichel, owner of Fellow Cat hypnotherapist Zoe Dcats, 811 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:52,360 Speaker 3: which a whole network. 812 00:42:53,400 --> 00:42:54,960 Speaker 2: At this point, they have each other to lean on. 813 00:42:55,120 --> 00:42:58,879 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly. So moving up the achievement ladder, we meet 814 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:05,359 Speaker 3: Lulu Howard. B SKYB Limited versus HP Enterprise Services UK 815 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:08,400 Speaker 3: Limited was a twenty ten case in the England and 816 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:13,600 Speaker 3: Wales High Court. So B sky B British Sky Broadcast. 817 00:43:14,600 --> 00:43:18,759 Speaker 3: They provided satellite broadcasting and you know, related services. The defendants, 818 00:43:18,960 --> 00:43:23,239 Speaker 3: HP Enterprise Services UK Limited they provided IT services in 819 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:26,799 Speaker 3: their technology, information technologies, all the IT guys. 820 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:27,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. 821 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:29,520 Speaker 3: So the whole thing centered around the procurement of a 822 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,960 Speaker 3: new customer relationship management system so that B sky B 823 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:37,319 Speaker 3: could provide improved service to its customers, focused on telephone 824 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:42,040 Speaker 3: contact between customers and the customer advisors at Sky call centers. 825 00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,480 Speaker 3: So B sky B selected HP Enterprise to build out 826 00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:47,720 Speaker 3: the system, and like, things didn't go so well. Okay, 827 00:43:48,360 --> 00:43:51,239 Speaker 3: it's very dry and you're asking Elizabeth, where are the 828 00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:52,040 Speaker 3: qut pups? 829 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,080 Speaker 2: Elizabeth, I'm noticing no qt pups. Where are they there? 830 00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:55,520 Speaker 3: Bring me. 831 00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:57,720 Speaker 2: The qt pups, I like top shelf qut pops. 832 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,000 Speaker 3: The ones in the caps in the gown was holding diplomas. 833 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:03,480 Speaker 3: Those qute pops, I want you to hold tight. The 834 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 3: defendant's key witness had an MBA from Concordia College in 835 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:09,000 Speaker 3: the US Virgin Islands. 836 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:12,000 Speaker 2: Though so but that was. 837 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,400 Speaker 3: Not impressive to Mark Howard, a member of the legal 838 00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:15,480 Speaker 3: team for be sky B. 839 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:16,560 Speaker 2: I'm with Mark Howard. 840 00:44:16,640 --> 00:44:19,200 Speaker 3: He smelled a fake, so he went out and got 841 00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:23,919 Speaker 3: a degree from Concordia for his dog, Lulu. Lulu got 842 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,640 Speaker 3: better grades than the key witness, so I'm thinking Mark 843 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:29,360 Speaker 3: paid more for that. The judge found that the witness 844 00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:32,279 Speaker 3: had lied. All hell broke loose, and the story is 845 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:34,759 Speaker 3: now a thing of legend in the British legal Oh 846 00:44:34,800 --> 00:44:37,319 Speaker 3: really yeah, Because here he's like, oh, so you're an 847 00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:39,800 Speaker 3: expert witness, this is your credentials. How about my dog 848 00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:40,520 Speaker 3: has better degree? 849 00:44:40,600 --> 00:44:42,480 Speaker 2: Yet, do you imagine being a lawyer? And then, like 850 00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,680 Speaker 2: the rock, You've said it all up, you got the 851 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:48,640 Speaker 2: thing already. The guy sets into your he steps right 852 00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:49,720 Speaker 2: into your trap and you're. 853 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:55,480 Speaker 3: Like, oh yeah, Barbara with shaking practically exactly Barbara. Another 854 00:44:55,560 --> 00:44:57,560 Speaker 3: one to complete a degree on the road to gainful 855 00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:02,680 Speaker 3: employment was Maxwell Sniffingwell, sniffing so doctor Ben Mays, a 856 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:07,680 Speaker 3: veterinarian in Clinton, Arkansas. He got a degree in theeogeneology 857 00:45:08,040 --> 00:45:11,480 Speaker 3: from Belford University on behalf of an English bulldog named 858 00:45:11,560 --> 00:45:12,560 Speaker 3: Maxwell sniffing well. 859 00:45:12,640 --> 00:45:13,600 Speaker 2: Oh of course, yes. 860 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:20,120 Speaker 3: What is theeogenology, Elizabeth? What is basically veterinary reproductive medicine 861 00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:20,719 Speaker 3: and surgery. 862 00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:24,760 Speaker 2: Oh so it's like kynecology for dogs, I suppose. 863 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:28,120 Speaker 3: So yeah, so the almost husbandry I would imagine, like 864 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:30,759 Speaker 3: husband but like the surgery part of it. 865 00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:31,600 Speaker 2: That's what I was thinking. 866 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:36,600 Speaker 3: The application included his work as a reproductive specialist, noting 867 00:45:36,640 --> 00:45:42,520 Speaker 3: his quote natural ability in theeogeneology and quote experimental work 868 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:43,480 Speaker 3: with felions. 869 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:45,080 Speaker 2: Was this one of those I got credit for my 870 00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:47,040 Speaker 2: life experiences? Yes, where he's like, I've been birth and 871 00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:47,839 Speaker 2: babies for a while. 872 00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:50,319 Speaker 3: This was yeah, and but this is for the dog. 873 00:45:50,480 --> 00:45:52,799 Speaker 2: This is the dog, and dog baby. 874 00:45:52,640 --> 00:45:56,520 Speaker 3: Has experimental work with felions. His understanding of the merits 875 00:45:56,560 --> 00:45:59,440 Speaker 3: of specialization despite a desire to quote do them all. 876 00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:04,640 Speaker 3: He got a diploma transcript letter of recommendation after the 877 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,560 Speaker 3: vet paid five and forty nine dollars to the university. 878 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:10,320 Speaker 3: He declined the offer to be made an honor student 879 00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:15,080 Speaker 3: for another seventy five bucks. Well know MBAs are popular 880 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:19,840 Speaker 3: degrees among pets. Take Pete for Pete's sake. Pete was 881 00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:23,200 Speaker 3: a four year old male, short haired half greyhound half terrier. 882 00:46:23,520 --> 00:46:24,960 Speaker 3: I was going to ask and he lived in the 883 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,560 Speaker 3: Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London. He was a 884 00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:30,279 Speaker 3: shelter pup and Pete was on his way up in 885 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:34,480 Speaker 3: the world though right the BBC investigative program Newsnight was 886 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:38,960 Speaker 3: looking into the American University of London AUOL. They got 887 00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,799 Speaker 3: a tip that AUOL was not on the up and up, 888 00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:45,680 Speaker 3: so Newsnight found hundreds of senior executives that said that 889 00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:50,080 Speaker 3: they had degrees from AUOL. The program drew up a 890 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:55,319 Speaker 3: one page fake resume for a management consultant named Peter 891 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,920 Speaker 3: Smith known as Pete, living in South London, which included 892 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:03,680 Speaker 3: fifteen years a fake work experience, a fictitious undergrad degree 893 00:47:03,680 --> 00:47:07,640 Speaker 3: from a UK university, and then Newsnight sent Pete's CV 894 00:47:07,840 --> 00:47:12,040 Speaker 3: to AUOL, along with a completed application for a Master's 895 00:47:12,040 --> 00:47:15,320 Speaker 3: in Business an MBA and the fifty pound application fee. 896 00:47:15,719 --> 00:47:17,759 Speaker 3: And so this is going to be like credit for 897 00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:24,120 Speaker 3: prior learning like that. Yeah, So AUOL asks for applicants 898 00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:28,960 Speaker 3: to provide photocopies of previous qualifications and a photograph of themselves. 899 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:33,919 Speaker 3: Newsnight was unable to provide either since the qualifications didn't 900 00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:36,840 Speaker 3: exist and the applicant was a dog. They didn't send 901 00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:39,640 Speaker 3: it and they still four days after they send in 902 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:43,520 Speaker 3: what they have the application. AUOL sent Pete an email 903 00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:46,280 Speaker 3: saying that his application for a degree based on previous 904 00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:51,480 Speaker 3: experience had been successful and once the university had received 905 00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:56,840 Speaker 3: his forty five hundred dollars pounds fee, he would be 906 00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:00,160 Speaker 3: registered as an MBA graduate within about two weeks for 907 00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:05,359 Speaker 3: hundred Yeah. So the Newsnight reporter called back to check 908 00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:07,960 Speaker 3: whether Pete would be required to submit any work, and 909 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,000 Speaker 3: the university representative said, quote, no, no. Apparently the a 910 00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:15,279 Speaker 3: p e L, which is the accreditation of Previous Experiential 911 00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:19,080 Speaker 3: Learning Board, awarded him the full degree immediately based on 912 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:22,200 Speaker 3: his qualification and his professional experience, so he doesn't have 913 00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:23,080 Speaker 3: to do any courses. 914 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,400 Speaker 2: Very very impressed, he said. He was a good boy, boy. 915 00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:30,600 Speaker 3: Very good boy, good job Petie. As for the hundreds 916 00:48:30,600 --> 00:48:34,560 Speaker 3: of senior executives with a UOL. 917 00:48:34,719 --> 00:48:36,239 Speaker 2: Was across London across. 918 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:40,600 Speaker 3: Newsnight named names and a bunch of them were blacklisted. 919 00:48:40,640 --> 00:48:42,160 Speaker 3: It was nice. 920 00:48:42,760 --> 00:48:43,239 Speaker 2: I love it. 921 00:48:43,280 --> 00:48:46,800 Speaker 3: I did love that. Another high achieving MBA was Colby Nolan. 922 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:50,399 Speaker 3: Colby Nolan was a house cat, but not just any 923 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:54,560 Speaker 3: house cat. He belonged to a Deputy Attorney General. And 924 00:48:54,640 --> 00:49:00,040 Speaker 3: thanks to Deputy Attorney General, Colby got an MBA in 925 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:02,920 Speaker 3: two thousand and four from Trinity Southern University, a Dallas 926 00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:06,759 Speaker 3: based diploma mill. So first, the agent's got the then 927 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:09,920 Speaker 3: six year old FELI and a bachelor's degree in business 928 00:49:09,960 --> 00:49:13,479 Speaker 3: administration for like three hundred bucks. Six years old cat 929 00:49:13,560 --> 00:49:16,880 Speaker 3: prodigy saren Colby's application. 930 00:49:16,560 --> 00:49:18,640 Speaker 2: And see some of his pitches, I mean, his business 931 00:49:18,680 --> 00:49:19,520 Speaker 2: plans were. 932 00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:23,759 Speaker 3: On acumen, off the charts. The application that Colby turned 933 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:26,200 Speaker 3: in said he had taken courses at a community college, 934 00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:29,239 Speaker 3: that he worked at a fast food restaurant, babysat, and 935 00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:30,480 Speaker 3: had a newspaper route. 936 00:49:30,520 --> 00:49:33,040 Speaker 2: I heard also included scratching, sniff stickers. 937 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:34,680 Speaker 3: Yes, and a three point five GPA. 938 00:49:34,840 --> 00:49:36,080 Speaker 2: Oh okay, So the. 939 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:40,040 Speaker 3: Institution tells Colby that due to the job experience listed 940 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:43,280 Speaker 3: on his application, don't forget. So it's a community college, 941 00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:49,040 Speaker 3: a paper route, fast like McDonald's and babysitting. He's eligible 942 00:49:49,080 --> 00:49:52,560 Speaker 3: for an executive MBA that he could obtain for another 943 00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:55,759 Speaker 3: hundred bucks. Wow, you look at that moves so far 944 00:49:55,880 --> 00:49:58,560 Speaker 3: that right, So they recognized town you can. 945 00:49:58,520 --> 00:50:00,880 Speaker 2: Babysit, you could run a fortun one hundred company, I 946 00:50:00,960 --> 00:50:01,840 Speaker 2: think is what they're saying. 947 00:50:03,120 --> 00:50:06,280 Speaker 3: So once Colby had his degree, Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry 948 00:50:06,280 --> 00:50:10,399 Speaker 3: Pappert filed a lawsuit against Trinity Southern University. December two 949 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:14,120 Speaker 3: thousand and four, the Texas Attorney General obtained a temporary 950 00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:18,240 Speaker 3: restraining order under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act against 951 00:50:18,239 --> 00:50:21,400 Speaker 3: Trinity Southern and its owners, and then the court also 952 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,640 Speaker 3: froze the assets of the school. 953 00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:24,640 Speaker 2: Good for them. 954 00:50:24,719 --> 00:50:27,200 Speaker 3: The owners had to pay one hundred thousand dollars in fines, 955 00:50:27,719 --> 00:50:31,240 Speaker 3: were ordered not to market or promote fraudulent, substandard degree 956 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:35,120 Speaker 3: programs or represent their university as being accredited or affiliated 957 00:50:35,120 --> 00:50:36,440 Speaker 3: with legitimate universities. 958 00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:37,920 Speaker 2: So they make all these millions and then they had 959 00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:39,920 Speaker 2: to pay one hundred thousand dollars and every. 960 00:50:39,719 --> 00:50:41,600 Speaker 3: Time they're like, okay, pay us like one hundred grand 961 00:50:41,640 --> 00:50:42,879 Speaker 3: and then say you're not going to do it again. 962 00:50:43,400 --> 00:50:47,160 Speaker 2: Promise me you're totally incentivize that by making you pay 963 00:50:47,200 --> 00:50:48,520 Speaker 2: us the amount for stamps. 964 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:50,880 Speaker 3: Well and okay, so we talked about high school diploma's, 965 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:53,840 Speaker 3: associate's degrees, nbas, that's bad enough, but as we said, 966 00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:57,719 Speaker 3: the terrifying fake degrees, medical fake medical school degrees. And 967 00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:00,920 Speaker 3: I have a pet one for that too, do you. 968 00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:05,120 Speaker 3: In two thousand and seven, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comedy 969 00:51:05,160 --> 00:51:08,080 Speaker 3: show The Chasers Wore On everything went after diploma. 970 00:51:08,120 --> 00:51:10,360 Speaker 2: I like, it is just a bit everywhere everywhere? What 971 00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:13,839 Speaker 2: if we do Thursday? Go look into diploma? But do 972 00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:14,640 Speaker 2: you have a cat? 973 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:17,640 Speaker 3: The host got a medical degree online for his dog's 974 00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:18,480 Speaker 3: Sonny Doctor. 975 00:51:18,520 --> 00:51:21,080 Speaker 2: Sonny Doctor said, of course, the degree came. 976 00:51:20,920 --> 00:51:25,640 Speaker 3: From a notorious diploma mill Ashwood University, and the application 977 00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:30,439 Speaker 3: cited Sonny's supposed like work experience, which included quote significant 978 00:51:30,480 --> 00:51:34,799 Speaker 3: proctology experience sniffing other dogs bones. Like they just wrote 979 00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:37,799 Speaker 3: it out bits and even with that in the application, 980 00:51:38,000 --> 00:51:40,919 Speaker 3: he still got the degree and they only care about 981 00:51:40,920 --> 00:51:43,480 Speaker 3: the money on it. So Ashwood University has since been 982 00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:46,520 Speaker 3: listed as a non accredited degree supplier in the states 983 00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:48,000 Speaker 3: of Michigan, Oregon and Texas. 984 00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:49,920 Speaker 2: You think a dog could get an archaeology degree for 985 00:51:49,960 --> 00:51:53,880 Speaker 2: all that digg in bone into copper lights. I mean, 986 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:54,600 Speaker 2: it's just well. 987 00:51:54,640 --> 00:51:56,920 Speaker 3: And if you go to the doctor and the diploma 988 00:51:57,040 --> 00:52:00,400 Speaker 3: on their walls from Ashwood University, yes, run. First thing 989 00:52:00,440 --> 00:52:02,280 Speaker 3: you do is make sure that they write you scripts 990 00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:03,600 Speaker 3: for whatever it is you want. 991 00:52:03,840 --> 00:52:05,560 Speaker 2: No, I got the window. 992 00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:07,479 Speaker 3: Then you book it out the window, then you run 993 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:07,839 Speaker 3: for it. 994 00:52:08,160 --> 00:52:10,440 Speaker 2: I don't want to be involved with that doctor on 995 00:52:10,520 --> 00:52:11,440 Speaker 2: paper at all. 996 00:52:11,520 --> 00:52:12,640 Speaker 3: Just get the scripts and run. 997 00:52:12,800 --> 00:52:15,040 Speaker 2: No, I don't think they really were. You know, you 998 00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:18,000 Speaker 2: didn't know. Do you think I can fake plausible deniability? 999 00:52:18,040 --> 00:52:21,759 Speaker 2: Look at me, I've got degrees from Ashwood University. 1000 00:52:21,920 --> 00:52:23,640 Speaker 3: Sarah was your ridiculous takeaway? 1001 00:52:24,800 --> 00:52:27,560 Speaker 2: You know this is not to be too serious, but 1002 00:52:27,600 --> 00:52:29,560 Speaker 2: it's really sad to hear that we have reduced a 1003 00:52:29,600 --> 00:52:32,279 Speaker 2: degree to just something you flash, so people think they 1004 00:52:32,280 --> 00:52:34,399 Speaker 2: can go and buy one, and nobody's like I'm gonna 1005 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:36,000 Speaker 2: look into that. It's like, oh, there it is, let's 1006 00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:38,640 Speaker 2: check that box. So they get thirty five hundred dollars. 1007 00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:40,440 Speaker 2: They get the box checked, and then now they're like, 1008 00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:44,720 Speaker 2: you know, the head account and whatever some telecom or whatever. 1009 00:52:44,960 --> 00:52:45,560 Speaker 2: Are you kidding me? 1010 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:46,600 Speaker 3: Well, it means less and less. 1011 00:52:46,719 --> 00:52:48,680 Speaker 2: I guess, not an accountant, because accounts actually do have 1012 00:52:48,719 --> 00:52:49,880 Speaker 2: to get certified. 1013 00:52:49,440 --> 00:52:51,440 Speaker 3: But an NBA or NBA. 1014 00:52:51,480 --> 00:52:53,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm saying some of the business somebody on the 1015 00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:54,360 Speaker 2: C suite. 1016 00:52:54,360 --> 00:52:57,080 Speaker 3: I don't geah, right, I feel like it means less 1017 00:52:57,080 --> 00:52:59,760 Speaker 3: and less all the time. That especially if you're dropping 1018 00:53:00,239 --> 00:53:03,399 Speaker 3: than it really is, like on legitimate colleges, but like, yeah, 1019 00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:04,120 Speaker 3: it means think. 1020 00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,160 Speaker 2: How much your college experience meant to you in terms 1021 00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:07,800 Speaker 2: of like forming who you are how you are, and 1022 00:53:08,200 --> 00:53:10,640 Speaker 2: the imprimature means something. And then now we reduce it 1023 00:53:10,680 --> 00:53:12,840 Speaker 2: to do you have a stamp and do you have 1024 00:53:12,920 --> 00:53:15,359 Speaker 2: some paper? Come up with something that has a lot 1025 00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:17,120 Speaker 2: of syllables. People will believe that. 1026 00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:18,680 Speaker 3: I want to get a piece. 1027 00:53:18,719 --> 00:53:22,040 Speaker 2: It's your ridiculous takeaway, PhD. That's I told you the 1028 00:53:22,040 --> 00:53:23,759 Speaker 2: you're getting that for your birthday. That's it's gonna be 1029 00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:26,600 Speaker 2: suitable for framing. You're gonna love it. It'd be great perfect. 1030 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:29,839 Speaker 3: Hey Captain D. Can you give me a talk back? 1031 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:39,239 Speaker 2: Oh my god, I love you. 1032 00:53:42,840 --> 00:53:46,799 Speaker 5: Hey, this is Kelly, longtime listener. Enjoy the show. So, 1033 00:53:47,000 --> 00:53:49,520 Speaker 5: on the subject of doing math on air, there's a 1034 00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:52,640 Speaker 5: great local show here in Little Rock, Arkansas, Corey and 1035 00:53:52,680 --> 00:53:56,680 Speaker 5: Patrick sadly just ended. But one of their number one 1036 00:53:57,000 --> 00:54:00,000 Speaker 5: rules was you never do math on the air because 1037 00:54:00,160 --> 00:54:02,719 Speaker 5: for some reason you can never math when put on 1038 00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:03,879 Speaker 5: the spot or on the air. 1039 00:54:04,040 --> 00:54:07,680 Speaker 3: So I say, it's not just never math on the air, 1040 00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:08,439 Speaker 3: just never math. 1041 00:54:08,600 --> 00:54:08,680 Speaker 5: No. 1042 00:54:08,800 --> 00:54:10,840 Speaker 2: But Corey and Patrick are one hundred percent right. I 1043 00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:13,239 Speaker 2: failed earlier in the show. I mean, look, boom, there 1044 00:54:13,239 --> 00:54:15,360 Speaker 2: you go. I can't do mad. I'm with you. I 1045 00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:17,480 Speaker 2: can't do math ever. But I don't want to say 1046 00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:18,160 Speaker 2: that for the kids. 1047 00:54:18,239 --> 00:54:19,600 Speaker 3: You know, but deal math kids, But. 1048 00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:21,640 Speaker 2: You're gonna put pressure yourself into youll math. 1049 00:54:21,480 --> 00:54:24,040 Speaker 3: And get a legitimate degree in it. How about that. 1050 00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:25,279 Speaker 3: That's it. That's all we have. 1051 00:54:25,400 --> 00:54:26,359 Speaker 2: You can tag that. 1052 00:54:26,920 --> 00:54:30,520 Speaker 3: You can fuck this online at ridiculous crime dot com. 1053 00:54:30,640 --> 00:54:33,160 Speaker 3: We're also a ridiculous crime on both Twitter and Instagram. 1054 00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:36,040 Speaker 3: Email Ridiculous Crime at gmail dot com. Leave us a 1055 00:54:36,120 --> 00:54:38,919 Speaker 3: talk back on the iHeart app. Don't talk about math, 1056 00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:42,520 Speaker 3: but thank you for Kelly. I do appreciate that reach out. 1057 00:54:48,360 --> 00:54:51,280 Speaker 3: Ridiculous Crime is hosted by Elizabeth Dutton and Zaren Burnett, 1058 00:54:51,440 --> 00:54:55,160 Speaker 3: produced and edited by Dave Cousten, Chancellor of Rude Dude University. 1059 00:54:55,520 --> 00:54:58,960 Speaker 3: Research is by Dean of Mysteries, Marissa Brown and Professor 1060 00:54:59,000 --> 00:55:03,000 Speaker 3: of Anthropology the Store Andrea Song Sharpened Tear. The theme 1061 00:55:03,080 --> 00:55:07,160 Speaker 3: song is by Registrar of Bogusville State University College University, 1062 00:55:07,320 --> 00:55:10,319 Speaker 3: Thomas Lee and Travis Dutton, pH D, M D J 1063 00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:13,560 Speaker 3: D O d I D l mn OP post wardrobe 1064 00:55:13,600 --> 00:55:17,280 Speaker 3: is provided by Botany five Hundred. Executive producers are Feli 1065 00:55:17,360 --> 00:55:20,760 Speaker 3: and MBA, Ben Bolan and Canine M. D. Noel Brown. 1066 00:55:25,840 --> 00:55:32,399 Speaker 5: Redicus Crime Say It One More Times. 1067 00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:36,000 Speaker 1: Crime Ridiculous Crime is a production of iHeartRadio Four More Podcasts. 1068 00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:39,279 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 1069 00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:41,120 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows,