The owner of an unaccredited online university that drew attention to Wyoming as a haven for such schools was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for tax fraud.

Rudy Marn owned Hamilton University, a school that existed primarily online but had an office in Evanston. Marn pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to fraud and making false statements for filing a false individual income tax return for 2003.

U.S. District Judge William Downes sentenced Marn in Casper to two years in prison and a year of supervised probation. Downes also ordered Marn to pay $618,937 in restitution to the IRS, according to IRS spokesman Bryan Thiel.

Thiel said Marn must report to prison by Dec. 30.

A message left for Marn's attorney, Tim Kingston, wasn't immediately returned Tuesday.

Thiel didn't know where Marn has been living lately. However, he said Marn has been ordered to satisfy his restitution in part through the sale of a home in Palm Beach, Fla.

According to court documents, Marn reported total personal income of $169,888 on his 2003 tax return. Prosecutors said Marn owed $239,846 that year, which would have required earning several times more income than he reported.

A court document stated Marn "earned a substantial amount of income" from a business in Wyoming. Thiel couldn't confirm whether that was Hamilton University but said Hamilton was still operational in 2003. The school has since shut down.

The television program "60 Minutes Wednesday" focused on Hamilton University in 2004. The program pointed out that the school had an official-looking Web site but was located in a former motel. The television crew saw no sign of faculty or students.

Hamilton's alumni included a high-ranking Department of Homeland Security official and the CEO of Cessna Aircraft, the program reported.

Wyoming has since cracked down on unaccredited colleges. State law now requires schools doing business in the state to at least be recognized as candidates for federally recognized accreditation.

Many online schools have left Wyoming since the law was passed in 2006.

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

Kenneth Wade Pearson was given six months for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud – the diploma mill operation – and a concurrent 48-month sentence for receipt of child pornography.

The 33-year-old Spokane father of three could have faced 108 to 135 months in prison for the pornography, but he began immediately cooperating with federal investigators in Operation Gold Seal in August 2005 – even before he was appointed an attorney.

Pearson served as the webmaster for dozens of online, fictional universities and high schools set up by Dixie and Steve Randock but was only paid an hourly wage of $9 while the masterminds racked in an estimated $8 million. He also set up a false Liberian embassy Web site used by the Randocks as part of their operation.

"He provided crucial details about the scheme," Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs said, helping investigators build their case against seven other defendants.

In newly filed court documents, the federal prosecutor disclosed that Pearson told investigators the diploma mill operation also counterfeited and sold "Microsoft Certified System Engineer" certificates. Court records don't say exactly how many of those bogus Microsoft certificates were sold. A Microsoft spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

After agreeing to talk to investigators in August 2005 during their search of a Post Falls office used by the Randocks, Pearson voluntarily agreed to a search of his home in Spokane and turned over computers he used to support the diploma mill sites.

On one of those computers, investigators found 11,000 images of child pornography. Some of the pictures were of children younger than 12 and portrayed "sadistic and masochistic conduct," according to court documents.

Pearson told investigators he downloaded the images "in an effort to create a legal adult pornography Web site" at the request of his employer, Dixie Randock, court documents say.

Pearson pleaded guilty in October 2006. He became the third member of the diploma mill ring to strike a plea bargain and agree to testify against ringleaders Dixie and Steve Randock, of Colbert. The Randocks and six other defendants pleaded guilty, and there was no trial.

Dixie Randock was not charged with possession or receipt of child porn. She and her husband are serving three-year federal prison sentences for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

The state Commission on Higher Education has ordered six more individuals — including a worker at a psychiatric facility, a professor, and two high school teachers — to stop using doctoral titles that the commission deemed void under state law because they were obtained from unaccredited institutions.

Both educators — English teacher Cheryl A. Lanza of Freehold and teacher consultant Lorraine Taddei-Graef of Lacey — work in the Freehold Township High School in the Freehold Regional High School District.

The orders were issued earlier this month, but issued publicly Thursday.

Lanza and Taddei-Graef had obtained doctor of education degrees from the unaccredited Breyer State University, and had used the corresponding Ed.D., or, doctoral titles.

Freehold Regional Superintendent H. James Wasser, one current and one former administrator had also been ordered to relinquish doctoral titles from Breyer State after Asbury Park Press reports this summer prompted statewide outrage.

Breyer State had been branded a diploma mill by officials in several states.

The situation prompted a bill to ban pay raises and benefits issued because of advanced degrees from unaccredited schools. That measure passed the state Senate Thursday.

"I am appalled that we even need this law," state Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, said.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Association of School Administrators Director Richard G. Bozza requested that all 1,000 members of the organization fully disclose their education by providing, "the communities they serve with complete transparency regarding their educational credentials," Bozza wrote in a prepared statement.

The Commission on Higher Education investigated the Freehold Regional employees after receiving a citizen complaint.

Taddei-Graef, Lanza and Freehold Regional Board of Education President Patricia Horvath could not be reached for comment.

The Press reported in August that district taxpayers reimbursed Lanza $2,050 for her degree, but Taddei-Graef was not reimbursed.

According to the commission's letters released Thursday, two others received degrees from another apparent diploma mill, Kennedy Western University in Cheyenne, Wyo., now Warren National University.

Wilhelmina P. D'Dumo, an instructor of psychiatry at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's school of osteopathic medicine, Cherry Hill, and Edward J. Moskal of Kinnelon, an assistant professor of computer science at St. Peter's College, the Jesuit College of New Jersey based in Jersey City, were both ordered to drop their doctoral titles.

A doctorate degree is not necessary for D'Dumo's current position, UMDNJ Media Relations Director Gerald Carey said. D'Dumo received her degree while working at UMDNJ, but was not reimbursed nor did she receive a raise based on it, Carey said.

D'Dumo is also an employee of Lakeland Regional Health Center in Camden County, a psychiatric facility, but no further information was disclosed.

D'Dumo is listed as a member of the Phillipine Nurses Association of Delaware Valley, Inc. advisory committee, with the academic designations related to being a registered nurse, a nurse practitioner, and a Ph.D. in psychology.

She also has a Master of Science in nursing, which is valid, said Jane Oates, director of the commission.

D'Dumo did not return calls seeking comment.

Moskal declined to comment.

Routinely, the commission searches the Web for possible misuses of academic titles. In doing so, they found D'Dumo and Moskal in violation of state statutes that govern academic titles, Oates said.

These four responded to the commission's request, writing that they had complied with the order, Oates said, adding that those letters are on file in the commission's office.

The commission has sent two other letters to people the commission believes have improperly claimed academic titles. Those recipients have not yet responded, Oates said.

The commission has sent a total of nine cease-and-desist letters since the Asbury Park Press began reporting on the Freehold Regional High School District diploma mill controversy July 17.

On Aug. 21, letters were sent to Wasser, Assistant Superintendent Donna Evangelista, and former Assistant Superintendent Frank J. Tanzini ordering them to relinquish their doctoral titles, which were obtained from Breyer State University, then located in Alabama, then, briefly, in Idaho, and now in Los Angeles, Calif.

Freehold Regional paid for the administrators' Breyer State degrees, $2,900 each, and awarded all three additional $2,500 a year, upon obtaining their degrees.

Wasser complied with the order to relinquish his doctoral title and stopped receiving the accompanying raise. Although he did not pay back tuition payments or the higher pay he received up until that point.

Later, Wasser publicly apologized at a district board meeting, and the district's Web site, www.frhsd.com, features a video apology from the superintendent.

Nine state troopers are under investigation over college diplomas they claimed to have earned to get higher pay.

Six troopers and three sergeants, including one trooper assigned to Seattle, were placed on paid administrative leave last week when the State Patrol launched a criminal investigation, Capt. Jeff DeVere said.

"We're taking this very seriously. This presents some very serious issues should these allegations be proven true," DeVere said.

The State Patrol began auditing personnel records last summer after the principals in a Spokane diploma mill scandal were convicted of counterfeiting and selling degrees and transcripts from some of the largest schools in the United States, as well as from 125 phony schools.

Dixie and Steve Randock, of Colbert, were sentenced to prison. The federal investigation, which lasted several years, uncovered government employees, including members of the National Security Agency and a White House staffer, who purchased fake degrees.

It was too early to say whether any of the diplomas came from the Spokane company, DeVere said, explaining that he couldn't comment on the specifics of the investigation.

Four of the troopers, including two sergeants, work in Vancouver. Three are assigned to Wenatchee. One sergeant works in Kelso and another trooper is assigned to Spokane, DeVere said.

They all have been employed for eight years or more with the agency. Three have been troopers for more than 15 years, DeVere said.

Under the State Patrol's labor contract, troopers can boost their base pay by 4 percent for earning a bachelor's degree and additional 2 percent for a master's degree. Troopers with a two-year degree are eligible for a 2-percent raise, DeVere said.

The audit, which is ongoing, raised questions about other troopers' degrees that turned out to be legitimate, he said.

"In some cases, we found some small, obscure colleges that are indeed valid," DeVere said. "With these, it wasn't readily apparent, so that's why the investigation has started."

The investigation is focused in some cases on whether troopers put in legitimate course work to earn a degree that would qualify them for the incentive pay, he said.

"Some of the things you look at online, you can put down your life experiences and pay $500 and you have a diploma," he said. "But there are valid online programs through major institutions. So what we're trying to determine is what type of institution was it and what kind of coursework was it."

Stephen J. Arnett, currently under investigation for promoting online and foreign medical schools from Magoffin County, was recently given a license to practice as a surgical assistant in Kentucky.

The license allows him, while being supervised, to assist surgeons with opening and closing incisions and other procedures during surgery. It is not clear whether Arnett is actually working in that capacity. He indicated to the Board of Medical Licensure that he intended to start a surgical assistants company. Arnett was a key figure in Degrees of Harm, a Herald-Leader series in October, that examined his role in recruiting students to treat patients, study in clinical settings or receive online medical degrees. Three men Arnett was involved with have been convicted of practicing medicine without a license -- one in Kentucky, one in Nevada and one in Rhode Island.

In the past, Arnett has described himself as having medical degrees and other medical credentials that he did not have. He has been investigated by state and federal authorities, but has never been charged with any crime as a result of his medical activities. He is not licensed as a medical doctor in Kentucky or any other state.

Kentucky's Board of Medical Licensure denied Arnett a physician's assistant's license in 1988 and warned him not to "hold himself out" as one. The board investigated him in 1997 after a complaint that he was again working as a physician's assistant, but when the board shared the results with law enforcement officials, nothing was done.

C. Loyd Vest, an attorney for the medical board, said that Arnett was granted a surgical assistant's license in March.

The board initially approved Arnett's application on its face, Vest said. However, when questioned by a reporter about it recently, he said: "We are now reviewing the information that he provided to get a surgical assistant's license."

In Kentucky, payments for the work of a certified surgical assistant have recently become reimbursable through third-party insurance.

Arnett has not responded to several requests by the Herald-Leader for an interview. But in a court deposition from a lawsuit against him that was later dismissed, he said he was always honest about his degrees and that they were all legitimate.

After the publication of the Herald-Leader series, Kentucky's medical licensure board began investigating how Arnett helped other people get medical degrees.

Florida clinics

Why, Vest was asked, was Arnett, who had previously been turned down for a physician's assistant's license, granted a surgical assistant's license?

The requirements for the two licenses are different, Vest said. More is required of a physician's assistant, who acts as an agent of the supervising physician and is allowed to treat patients and prescribe medication.

Under Kentucky law, a surgical assistant's license can be obtained if a person is certified by one of several national surgical assistant's groups and completes 800 hours in the three previous years as an assistant in surgical procedures under the direct supervision of a physician licensed in this country.

Arnett presented documents to the board in January showing he had passed a test given by a national group approved by the board -- the North Carolina-based national Surgical Assistant Association.

Officials from that organization did not return telephone calls or respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Arnett also told the board in his application that he had trained as a surgical assistant at two Florida clinics for 850 hours between 2002 and 2005.

One of the clinics was the Hallandale Orthopedic and Outpatient Surgical Center in Hallandale, Fla. That facility's current Web site lists it as Orthopedic Rehab of Hallandale Inc. It does not mention surgical procedures, but advertises chiropractic and alternative and natural medicine services.

A licensed chiropractor on staff at the clinic advertises having a naturopathic degree from St. Luke School of Medicine and Southern Graduate Institute, schools where Arnett once held key titles. Naturopathy involves using only natural elements or the body's own immune system to treat disease.

The Hallandale clinic's Web site also says that the osteopath is a faculty member at a university in the Caribbean that Arnett once promoted.

At a second clinic in St. Petersburg, Fla., clinic director Joseph DiStefano said that Arnett observed several hours of surgery and other medical procedures performed by a licensed physician until the clinic stopped performing surgeries more than a year ago, when a staff member retired.

Arnett's application to the board said he was employed by Kentucky Surgical Arts #2 Ortho-Rehab on James Trimble Boulevard in Paintsville.

Arnett now maintains an office at 624 James S. Trimble Drive inside the Paintsville Ramada Inn, called Health and Sports Wellness Center. A seal on the door says the center is a member of the American Medical Massage Therapy Association. Services listed include massage therapy, neuromuscular therapy, cellulite treatment, naturopathic/homeopathic remedies and reflexology, as well as homeopathic and natural health products and nutritional consultation -- but not outpatient surgery.

Arnett is a licensed massage therapist in West Virginia and Kentucky. He has been licensed as a naturopath in Idaho and Washington, D.C., and as an acupuncturist in West Virginia.

He has also incorporated the Kentucky Association of Surgical Assistant Inc., according to records filed with the Kentucky secretary of state.

A company at the same address is listed in the Secretary of State's records as ISO-Diagnostics Testing of Kentucky, with Steve Arnette -- the last name spelled with an extra e -- as the organizer and director.

In addition to looking into Arnett's credentials, Vest said the Kentucky board is also investigating the activities of the businesses which carry Arnett's name in state records.

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure has opened an investigation into whether a Magoffin County man who promoted online and foreign medical schools has broken any state laws, C. Lloyd Vest, an attorney for the board, said yesterday.

Stephen J. Arnett, a former tombstone salesman and Free Will Baptist minister, promoted the St. Luke School of Medicine, an online school based in Liberia, from an address in Falcon, a small Magoffin County community, until 2003. He held key titles at the school, including vice president, and helped recruit students and place them in Kentucky hospitals and clinics.

Vest said board officials decided to launch a new investigation following a three-part series in the Herald-Leader and that the board would turn over any evidence to the appropriate authorities. The state attorney general's office also began investigating Arnett's involvement with the foreign school after a reporter called with questions.

The articles outlined how three men who have been convicted of practicing medicine without a license -- two in Kentucky and one in Rhode Island -- used their affiliation with St. Luke to treat patients or to study in clinical settings.

In the 1990s, Arnett owned and ran several Eastern Kentucky clinics.

State authorities investigated complaints against him, but he has never been criminally charged in connection with his medical activities.

Now a licensed massage therapist in both Kentucky and West Virginia, Arnett now maintains an office at 624 James S. Trimble Drive, inside the Paintsville Ramada Inn, called Health and Sports Wellness Center.

A company at the same address is listed in Kentucky Secretary of State records as ISO-Diagnostics Testing of Kentucky with Steve "Arnette" -- the last name spelled with an extra "e" -- as the organizer and director.

But Arnett is rarely seen in the office, hotel employees said.

"He comes in once or twice a month, checks his mail, pays his rent and you'll never see him till next time," Frankie Tackett, a desk clerk at the Ramada, said yesterday.

Filing cabinets and a lighted Tiffany-style lamp on a desk can be seen through the glass door to the office, located just off the hotel lobby. A seal on the door says the center is a member of the American Medical Massage Therapy Association. Services listed include massage therapy, neuromuscular therapy, cellulite treatment, naturopathic/homeopathic remedies and reflexology, as well as homeopathic and natural health products and nutritional consultation.

A Herald-Leader reporter visited the office three times this week and found the door locked.

Arnett could not be reached yesterday and has declined the Herald-Leader's repeated requests for interviews.

Arnett has been licensed as a naturopath in Idaho and Washington, D.C., and as an acupuncturist in West Virginia. Naturopathy involves using only natural elements or the body's own immune system to treat disease.

St. Luke President Jerroll Dolphin said in a recent interview that he stopped working with Arnett in 2003 and took away an honorary medical degree the school had given him because he thought Arnett was giving degrees without requiring proper course work.

Though some states have questioned the school's legitimacy, Dolphin said St. Luke offered an intensive curriculum and was not a diploma mill -- a school without accreditation that awards degrees for money and little work.

Larry Lammers worked in a chain of accident injury centers in Kentucky and served a jail sentence for practicing medicine without a license.

Court documents show that Arnett recruited him to St. Luke. Lammers completed course work, Dolphin said, but did not receive a medical degree because of his Kentucky conviction.

Arnett arranged for Andrew E. Michael to observe a heart specialist in Lexington. While in Kentucky, Michael was convicted in Nevada of practicing medicine without a license. He served a jail sentence and is back in custody on federal credit card charges. He never completed his studies at St. Luke, Dolphin said.

John E. Curran, who was sentenced in August to 12 1/2 years in federal prison in Rhode Island, said Arnett provided him with diplomas in medicine and naturopathy. Dolphin said Curran was never a legitimate St. Luke student.

There is no agency in Kentucky that oversees online degrees, nor does the state have an office that investigates people accused of practicing medicine without a license.

But Vest has said the board investigates any allegation it receives and that the attorney general's office can seek an injunction to stop the activity.

Fake degrees are illegal in Oregon, New Jersey, Indiana, Illinois, North Dakota and Nevada, where they are misdemeanors and punishable by fines. However, violators rarely face prosecution.

State Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, said that she will, for the fourth time, introduce a bill that would make the use of bogus credentials a Class D felony, punishable by a prison sentence of up to five years.

What’s happened
Since Alabama has cracked down on questionable for-profit schools,

• Five institutions have been denied state licenses to open in Alabama
• Four had licenses revoked
• 21 did not have licenses renewed
• One closed

The new rules aimed at cracking down on questionable private, for-profit schools took effect just over a week ago, and already 30 schools have left Alabama, been kicked out or prohibited from setting up shop.

According to information released Thursday by the Alabama Community College System, applications for five institutions to come to the state were denied, four had their operating licenses revoked and licenses for 21 schools were not renewed. Also, one school closed.

State law gives the college system power to grant licenses to Alabama-based private, for-profit institutions, but no staff or money were dedicated to enforcing regulations. Higher education watchdogs decried that method of approval, which they say allowed diploma mills that offer degrees for little or no academic work to set up shop in the state.

In July, two-year Chancellor Bradley Byrne announced an effort to enforce existing rules, then strengthen oversight with stricter regulations that went into place Oct. 1.

Out of the 30 schools Byrne’s staff have either closed or kept out of the state, only three have come after the new rules took effect. Simply enforcing the old regulations produced results, but Byrne said the new rules will make it easier to find questionable schools.

“I don’t think we’re done yet,” he said.

It will probably take at least a year to review the more than 200 private, for-profit schools licensed by the college system, he said.

Many of the schools left the state before college system staff could revoke their licenses or not renew them.

“In some cases there are people who saw the handwriting on the wall, but in many cases there was some failure on the part of the institution,” Byrne said.

Gregory Fitch, executive director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, praised Byrne’s efforts. Fitch began the drumbeat against the state’s lax educational licensing process about two years ago.

A bill was introduced into the Legislature to transfer the power to review in-state schools from the college system to ACHE, which reviews out-of-state private, non-profit schools. The bill failed to get a vote in the past two sessions, a failure Byrne and Fitch said prompted the college system to take action.

“He’s doing exactly what the state needs him to do,” Fitch said of Byrne. “As long as it’s being done in the best interest of the state, we’re fine with it.

“It’s working, and I think there are going to be some real challenges to these schools to slip through, as least legitimately, into our state.”

It’s difficult to say whether all the schools were diploma mills, since some of the stricter code deals with financial viability, such as requiring institutions to provide audited financial statements. Still, Alabama has been marked by many nationwide as a haven for diploma mills and several unaccredited schools on the list that were kicked out of the state such as Chadwick University, Breyer State University, Carter University and Omni University.

Besides negative actions, Byrne’s staff also renewed licenses for 23 schools and approved six more.

Rejection of New Applications
• The Queen’s University of Brighton, Hamilton, OH (4-23-08)
• Faith in Action Business Access Online, Hayneville, AL (5-7-08) Withdrawal
• Southern State University, Birmingham, AL (8-25-08)
• Madison University of Business & Technology, Gulfport, MS (8-26-08)

  Rejection/Withdrawal

• Paramount University of Technology, Birmingham, AL (9-3-08)

  Revocations

• Columbus University, Daphne, AL (5-19-08)
• *Real Estate Institute, Birmingham, AL (5-29-08)
• Southern Community College, Tuskegee, AL (5-23-08)
• Chadwick University, Birmingham, AL (8-28-08)

  Non-Renewals

• Breyer State University-Alabama, Birmingham, AL (6-23-08)
• *Central Alabama OIC, Montgomery, AL (4-10-08)
• Carter University, Inc., Dothan, AL (4-11-08)
• *Gold Coast Professional Schools, Tamarac, FL (4-16-08)
• *Anvil Property Brokers School of Real Estate, Birmingham, AL (6-5-08)
• North Alabama Driving Academy, Ft. Payne, AL (6-5-08)
• Jomil Driving Academy, Huntsville, AL (6-5-08)
• *Avery Yarbrough & Associates, Eufaula, AL (6-9-08)
• *JME Real Estate School, Mobile, AL (6-9-08)
• *ERA Jefferson School of Real Estate, Phenix City, AL (6-9-08)
• *Alliance Group Real Estate School, Birmingham, AL (6-23-08)
• *Abana School of Real Estate, Vestavia, AL (6-23-08)
• *RESCO School of Real Estate, Tuscaloosa, AL (6-23-08)
• *High-Tech Institute, Nashville, TN (7-3-08)
• *High-Tech Institute, Orlando, FL (7-3-08)
• *Holland Jewelry School, Selma, AL (8-6-08)
• Omniversity, Inc., Mobile, AL (9-10-08)
• *Tuscaloosa School of Real Estate, Tuscaloosa, AL (9-22-08)
• *Alabama Real Estate Academy, Inc, Foley, AL (10-7-08)
• *Realty Now School of Real Estate, Birmingham, AL (10-7-08)
• *Real Estate Career Institute, Ft. Payne, AL (10-7-08)

  Closed

• All American Driving Academy, Decatur, AL (9-01-08)

It was the largest case of degree fraud in America, perhaps the world. The investigation into St Regis University, a huge degree mill, ended in jail sentences for its “founders” and some employees in July, and has cast light on the lengths to which sellers of dodgy degrees will go to ensnare people in their web of deceit.

St Regis’ tentacles spread around the globe, with clients across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia, including Hong Kong.

“This was an eight-agency federal criminal prosecution, involving more than 100 countries, 66 real universities known to have had their degrees counterfeited and 150 separate bogus institutions set up by the perpetrators,” said George Gollin, professor of physics at the University of Illinois. He had been monitoring the degree mill since 2002 and passed on a great deal of information to investigators that led to the convictions.

“It is the first case of its kind where we have so much information, so we have an extensive profile of how they operated internationally,” he said.

A statement from the US Department of Justice said St Regis’ customers included teachers, psychologists, engineers and at least one college president. “Many were shipped abroad. The annual degree output from St Regis was about the same as a medium-sized American university,” it said.

Investigators calculated that the organisers netted at least US$7.3 million from the sales.

“It was the most sophisticated degree mill because they had 125 different websites of high [secondary] schools, colleges, accredited entities, degree transcript storage and credential evaluation companies,” said Allen Ezell, a former FBI agent who has investigated degree mills.

“We now have a better insight into how big this was and how many sales were in the various countries and the type of degrees in demand.”

According to documents unearthed by federal investigators, some 30 Hong Kong people wittingly or unwittingly acquired fake degrees, although several Hong Kong individuals bought more than one degree in the space of a very short period, suggesting they knew very well what they were doing...

The annual degree output from St. Regis was about the same as a medium-sized American university...

The man who was "dean of studies" at fraudulent St Regis University is still selling distance learning qualifications in Hong Kong. The US operation was closed following an investigation and its founders were jailed.

But Steve Ho Kwok-cheong - one-time Asia representative of its business school and St Regis School of Martial Arts - continues to provide online courses up to PhD level from "universities" you have probably never heard of and others which have never heard of him.

Until this week, Mr Ho's company - ICL Distance Learning Centre - offered online courses from 11 universities in the US, Central America and the Philippines that it claimed to be authorised to recruit or offer distance programmes for, either through affiliation or collaboration. The courses ranged from sub-degree, undergraduate to postgraduate qualifications.

By yesterday, five of these universities had been removed from ICL website - www.icledu.org - following the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) 's investigation into Mr Ho's activities.

The investigation discovered that at least two were either unlicensed or did not exist, and four genuine universities denied having connections with Mr Ho, ICL or Ho's other company, In-Com Link Management Associates.

The search for Mr Ho led to Post reporters trawling through virtual miles of cyberspace, making calls across four continents at all hours this week before arriving at two apparently unconnected addresses in Central - an office services centre in World-Wide House and a tiny public accountant's office in Tsim Sha Tsui.

When a reporter finally made contact with Mr Ho by phone yesterday morning, he said he had done nothing wrong.

"We just provide the course materials," he said. "As this is pure online learning, with no face-to-face classes, we do not need to register with the Education Bureau."

He said the majority of his students were not based in Hong Kong.

However, earlier this week he had been keen to help a Post reporter posing as a customer looking for a fast track to a degree.

ICL's website describes Mr Ho as an "educational professional" who has "been a full/part-time lecturer for different famous worldwide universities/post-secondary institutes, such as University of Sydney, OUHK, City University (UK), University of Heriot-Watt and University of Wollongong, since 1991".

Checks at SydneyU, Wollongong, Heriot-Watt and London's CityU revealed none had a record of employing him. Open University was unable to confirm or deny the connection by the time of going to print.

Mr Ho said the positions had been in Hong Kong - "lecturing" at evening courses run by local companies on the universities' behalf. "I was a lecturer teaching in Hong Kong."

The website also states Mr Ho has a PhD, although it does not specify where he obtained it.

The Post investigation discovered it was from York University, Mobile, Alabama - not to be confused with its namesakes in Canada or Britain - which lists Mr Ho as a member of its academic board.

Inquiries with Alabama authorities confirmed YorkU had no official accreditation and was illegal.

An application for a licence is pending, but Annette McGrady, the private school licence specialist handling the case, said it was "highly unlikely" to succeed due to concerns about the capacity of their faculty.

"They have never been licensed in Alabama," she said. The school had also been given a written warning about selling "honorary degrees" to Hong Kong, she said.

No calls to YorkU - which operates from a lawyer's office - were returned. However, the Post received an e-mail from a "Professor Akiva Fradkin" containing a digital image of a purported official licence. It expired on November 1, 2006.

Mr Ho confirmed his PhD had been from YorkU but insisted it was a genuine qualification.

"I had to submit coursework online and it was assessed," he said.

Mr Ho said being on the academic board meant he could design courses, which could be accredited by YorkU and offered through ICL under the Alabama centre's name.

"I just care about developing a high-quality, pure online learning course," he said.

He said the lack of officially recognised accreditation - YorkU is accredited by an unofficial organisation which only accredits similar small private outfits - did not concern him as accreditation was "very personal".

Mr Ho declined to explain his relationship with the St Regis University scandal, but did not deny involvement.

He said he did not like St Regis' approach of "just selling" degrees without requiring coursework.

"At least [my students] have to complete coursework. They can fail and some of them do," he said.

The Education Bureau has launched an investigation into an online learning portal run from Hong Kong after an investigation by the South China Morning Post linked it to an international web of so-called degree mills and bogus universities.

ICL Distance Learning Centre, whose enrolment address is in Central, also seems to have been offering online courses from prestigious US universities without their consent.

The centre's director is Steve Ho Kwok-cheong, of Lai Chi Kok. The ICL's website claimed he had lectured at four overseas universities, but they had no record of having employed him.

Mr Ho's name has also been connected to the scandal in the US over bogus institution St Regis University. He is listed in court documents related to the prosecution in that case as a "dean of studies" for the St Regis School of Business and the St Regis School of Martial Arts.

This week, ICL's website - www.icledu.org - listed courses from 11 universities in the US, Central America and the Philippines that the centre claimed to be linked to either through affiliation or collaboration. The names of several have since been removed.

The partner institutions included prestigious names such as Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Mercy College in New York and the University of Washington in Seattle.

Contacted by a Post reporter, Mr Ho said his business was legitimate.

However, Post reporters have discovered that one of the universities, York University in Mobile, Alabama, is unlicensed, and another, West Coast University in Panama City, Panama, does not exist. The former's website lists Mr Ho as a member of its academic board.

Spokesmen for Carnegie Mellon and Mercy College said they were not aware of any connection. A spokeswoman for the University of Washington said: "A unit of University of Washington Education Outreach entered into an agreement with [the centre's parent company] In-Com Link [Management Associates] in April 2003, but their last agreement expired April 6, 2006."

She said the university had sent a letter demanding ICL "remove all links or references to the University of Washington from its website".

Mr Ho said he was only acting as a recruiting agent for the universities.

"I did not say these degrees were accepted in Hong Kong," he said.

He said the University of Washington's name was left on the site as a result of an oversight. All references to the institution and to York and West Coast universities disappeared from the site yesterday. References to Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology in the Philippines were removed earlier within hours of a Post reporter confirming the university had no connection to ICL.

A spokeswoman for the Education Bureau said there was no need for schools providing "purely online" courses to register, but the bureau would look into the website. "If there is any evidence that the course information therein is misleading, we shall take action as appropriate."

Listen to the Podcast Hear Steve Ho Kwok-cheong defend his learning centre and academic qualifications at http://www.scmp.com/files/SCMP/Blogs/Static_Files/Q42008/081004_Education_October_4.mp3.

A day after the governor's veto torpedoed three years of discussions about policing the state's 1,600 for-profit and vocational colleges, lawmakers and others were wondering how to protect hundreds of thousands of students at those schools.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday announced he would not sign SB 823, saying the bill failed to "strike a balance between protecting students, while being firm, yet fair to schools." The legislation was confusing and not easily enforceable, he wrote in his veto message.

The veto disappointed consumer advocates, who had argued the continued lack of oversight could lead fly-by-night diploma mills to relocate to California. The state has been without a watchdog since July 1, 2007, when the Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education expired.

"This is almost like after a natural disaster, when you get all kinds of predatory operators," said Betsy Imholz, an attorney with the Consumers Union and a strident supporter of a new bureau. "We need an alert system before people enter a school."

The now-defunct bureau was created to gather complaints by students who believed vocational schools had cheated them. A minority of the schools gave the industry a bad reputation by closing unexpectedly without returning tuition money.

Some schools have been criticized for giving useless degrees and few job prospects to students who paid tens of thousands of dollars.

Critics said the bill was too tightly controlled by its sponsor, Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland. With his term expiring this winter, new legislative leaders should focus on creating a bill that is concise and not as intent on teaching for-profit operators a lesson, said Robert Johnson, executive director of the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools.

"I think the governor and his administration have been pretty clear about what they want in a bill," Johnson said. Democrats "are demanding a bill that goes way beyond regulatory measures and punishes the sector.

"We have to have bipartisan leadership."

Neither Perata nor his replacement as Senate president pro tem, Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, responded to interview requests Wednesday.

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger asked the Department of Consumer Affairs to educate students about their rights and to investigate complaints. A department leader said Wednesday her agency has been doing both since the bureau closed.

"Basically, there haven't been any major issues," said Patty Harris, a deputy director with the Department of Consumer Affairs. "If one arises, we're committed" to dealing with it.

When Vice Adm. Donald Arthur retired as Navy surgeon general, Adm. Mike Mullen—now chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—paid tribute to a "Renaissance man."

"His résumé says a lot," Mullen said. "BA, MA, JD, PhD and of course MD. He's got more degrees than a thermometer."

It was a stirring testimonial, but not entirely accurate. While Arthur's bachelor's and MD were legitimate, he has no master's. The PhD came from a university whose accreditation the federal government doesn't recognize. And the JD, or law degree, was granted by a diploma mill that collapsed after its president was imprisoned for fraud.

Nearly two years before Mullen's rousing send-off, an author specializing in military research told his office that Arthur had claimed questionable academic credentials.

Yet Mullen still made those degrees a centerpiece of his retirement ode to Arthur last year. And those degrees were either entered into Arthur's record or listed in résumés submitted to the U.S. Senate for his promotion up the ranks of admiral and ultimately to surgeon general of the Navy, records show.

Arthur says he was guilty only of being ill-informed about unaccredited institutions—and that a Navy investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing.

But his history raises questions about how well Pentagon brass and the Senate vet applicants to top military positions as the federal government investigates cases of academic fraud.

Arthur, who left the Navy and became a hospital executive in Pennsylvania, defended his qualifications to be the service's top doctor. "The only thing I was hired to be surgeon general for was my MD," he said.

His PhD and JD have since been removed from his official biography but remain in his service record.

An unaccredited JD and PhD would not be as central to a doctor's promotion as an MD, said retired Rear Adm. John Hutson, the Navy's top uniformed lawyer from 1997 to 2000. But Hutson said the law degree and doctorate would have been factors in Arthur's advancement—particularly in an area like health-care management, the focus of his PhD.

"He may or may not be promoted without it," Hutson said. "But one, he had it in his record, and two, there's a pretty good argument that he knew or should have known that people would rely on it, not knowing that they were unaccredited degrees."

Unaccredited institutions range from those whose officials have been prosecuted, like LaSalle University in Mandeville, La., to those like American Century University (formerly Century University) that operate legally but claim accreditation from organizations the U.S. government doesn't recognize.

Within a 14-month period in 1992-93, Arthur obtained a PhD in health-care management from what is now American Century University in New Mexico and a JD from LaSalle University, according to his Navy record.

American Century's dean of instruction, Antonin Smrcka, said students work hard for degrees, adding that the institution had Arthur's doctoral thesis on file before it was destroyed as part of a regular records purge.

But he added: "The U.S. Army or U.S. Navy or U.S. Air Force does not recognize the degree from Century University. … As a rule, we inform the potential student to speak to his employer [to find out] if his employer would accept the degree."

LaSalle University is not to be confused with venerable La Salle University in Philadelphia. The LaSalle in Louisiana collapsed after its founder pleaded guilty in 1996 to conspiracy to commit tax evasion and other offenses in a scheme that included the selling of degrees.

In interviews, Arthur acknowledged that in the early 1990s he took "some courses from two places that are unaccredited." He said LaSalle had given him papers indicating the school had been accredited. "I could say I was naive, but I was 40 years old. And I didn't understand completely what was going on."

As for the master's, which first appeared in his bio for his 1978 medical school yearbook, Arthur said, "I was in a master's program, but I did not graduate. I do not have a master's degree."

Arthur has come under criticism from a number of retired Navy officers, including Dr. Benjamin Newman, a veteran of the Navy medical corps who retired this year.

Newman noted that the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, which Arthur oversaw as surgeon general, scrutinizes a doctor's record every time he is assigned to practice medicine at a new duty station.

Arthur's "credentials should have been picked up by someone to show that they're not legitimate," said Newman, who has viewed Arthur's records.

In November 2005, B.G. Burkett, an Army Vietnam veteran who has made a career of exposing military fraud, urged Mullen to investigate Arthur, according to letters provided by Burkett.

Arthur said he was stunned by Burkett's allegations at the time and welcomed an investigation by the Navy inspector general. Arthur said the investigation cleared him of any wrongdoing, but he declined to give the Tribune a copy of the report.

The inspector general's office declined to confirm that any investigation occurred, citing confidentiality.

Asked how unaccredited degrees ended up in Arthur's record, Navy spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis said, "I have not seen the record. … Navy policy and the Navy practice is that we don't introduce degrees that are not from accredited institutions."

Operators of a Spokane-based diploma mill, now in federal prison for wire and mail fraud, were attempting to accredit their bogus online universities by bribing officials in Russia, India and Italy, according to court documents.

The documents were filed for today’s back-to-back sentencings of Amy Hensley, Blake Alan Carlson and Richard J. “Rick” Novak, who were indicted in October 2005 along with Dixie and Steven Randock, the masterminds of the mill.

Immediately after search warrants were carried out in three states in August 2005, Hensley, Carlson and Novak independently began cooperating with state and federal investigators involved in “Operation Gold Seal” in the hopes of getting lighter sentences, Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jacobs said at the sentencing hearings.

With cooperation from a fourth defendant, the U.S. Attorney’s Office had lined up half of the eight defendants indicted in the case as prosecution witnesses. Ultimately, the four remaining defendants, including the Randocks, also pleaded guilty earlier this year, and there was no trial.

Some of the evidence in the case, however, has been attached to sentencing memorandums filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Those documents reveal the Randocks paid $100,000 to an unidentified official in India, hoping to get that country to provide “accreditation” for their online schools – an apparent attempt to help legitimize the operation as similar accreditation in Liberia began to fall apart.

Novak went to India at Steve Randock’s direction at some point after the Indian official took the money but then failed to provide any accreditation, the documents say.

Dixie Randock, meanwhile, was developing an affiliation with the Russian Education Ministry in the weeks before her arrest, the documents say, and had established an “Italian connection” in Sebora, Italy.

In exchange for their “substantial assistance” to the government, Hensley, Carlson and Novak were placed on three years probation today by U.S. District Court Judge Lonny Suko for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. The judge also ordered Hensley and Carlson to perform 240 hours of community service and Novak to perform 300 hours of service. While noting their cooperation, the federal prosecutor urged the court to send Hensley, Carlson and Novak to prison for up to a year.

The judge told the defendants the assistance they provided to prosecutors saved them from prison terms. The three detailed the inner workings of the diploma mill, which hauled in almost $8 million, and a series of bank accounts set up by the Randocks, including some offshore.

Suko said the probationary sentences he gave the three were appropriate to avoid “unwarranted disparity” with three-year terms given the Randocks, the one-year term given Heidi Kay Lohran and the four-month sentence handed to Roberta Markishtum.

Novak, 58, of Phoenix, took thousands of dollars from the Randocks and used it to pay cash bribes to senior Liberian officials who used their country’s board of education to provide accreditation to more than 100 online high schools and universities set up by the Spokane diploma mill.

Novak traveled to Maryland and Washington, D.C., with the Randocks, who instructed him to deliver the bribes to Liberian officials. Novak also went to Liberia and Ghana to make other payments. He was paid $60,000 for being the Randocks’ “emissary” with foreign government officials, Jacobs told the court.

Carlson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing foreign officials. Hensley and Carlson pleaded guilty to conspiracy counts.

Carlson, 61, who owns a Hillyard printing shop, sold bogus degree stamps and diploma seals to the Randocks before working as an online adviser, using the alias “C.B. Blackwell.” Hensley, 41, worked as an adviser, shipper and bookkeeper for the Randocks’ diploma mill and made $90,000 after initially working for Dixie Randock’s real estate school, A+ Institute.

Carlson also accompanied the Randocks to Detroit, where the trio sold “several degrees” to members of the United Auto Workers.

“I believe in integrity and honesty,” Carlson said, also telling the court he’s a deeply committed Christian who has attended the same church for 25 years.

“I was stupid,” he told the judge. “Once I realized Dixie’s business was a fraud, I was well over my head at that point.” Carlson made $41,000 for his role in the scheme.

The documents also disclose that one of the 10,000 people around the world who bought degrees from the Spokane diploma mill was an ambassador in Asia, whose identity isn’t provided in the documents.

Asked about that outside court today, Carlson said he couldn’t remember any of those details.

Vervalste accreditatie voor CMU
25 Sep, 2008, 17:20 (GMT -04:00)

WILLEMSTAD - Onderwijs-minister Omayra Leeflang (PAR) zal naar het Openbaar Ministerie stappen naar aanleiding van een vervalste brief waarin staat dat de Caribbean Medical University (CMU) door de Antilliaanse regering wordt erkend. Volgens Leeflang kunnen medische scholen niet door de Antilliaanse regering worden erkend.

De bewuste brief is op de 15e van deze maand verstuurd aan Carol Bode, senior research analyst van de International Medical Education Directory. De brief bevat tal van onjuistheden. Hij zou verstuurd zijn door de Antilliaanse regering, maar het wapen van de Antillen telt zes in plaats van de gebruikelijke vijf sterretjes. Aan de andere kant stelt de briefopsteller dat de brief namens de 'government of Curaçao' zou zijn verstuurd. De handtekening onder aan de brief is onleesbaar, maar onder deze handtekening staat niet zoals gebruikelijk de naam van de ondertekenaar, maar louter 'the departement of education of the Netherlands Antilles'.

Leeflang kon er gisteren tijdens de wekelijkse persconferentie van de Raad van Ministers niet over uit hoe brutaal degenen zijn die de brief hebben vervalst. "Medische scholen kunnen niet door de Antilliaanse regering worden erkend. Ze zijn vrij om zich hier te vestigen. Wij hebben hier vrijheid van onderwijs. Het enige wat ze nodig hebben is een vestigingsvergunning. Ze vallen niet onder de onderwijswetgeving en worden niet erkend. Zij dienen zelf te zorgen voor hun erkenning. Dit kan via een universiteit in de Verenigde Staten, Europa of een andere instelling."

De minister benadrukt dat sinds haar aantreden in 2006 medische scholen geen erkenning meer krijgen. Sindsdien staat zij en haar ambtenaren onder continue druk van lobbyisten en vertegenwoordigers van medische scholen die toch een erkenning van de Antilliaanse regering willen. "Maar dit kan gewoonweg niet. Ze vallen niet onder ons onderwijssysteem. Conform onze wetten kunnen wij ze niet erkennen. Blijkbaar kunnen mensen niet hiermee leven en is er besloten tot het vervalsen van officiële documenten over te gaan."

Leeflang kondigde aan deze zaak grondig te gaan onderzoeken en dat zij hiermee ook naar het OM zal stappen.

Forged accreditation for CMU
September 25, 2008, 17:20 (GMT -04:00)

WILLEMSTAD - Minister of Education Omayra Leeflang (PAR) will contact the Attorney General because of a forged letter that states that the Caribbean Medical University (CMU) would be recoignized by the Antillean government. Minister Leeflang holds that medical schools can not be recognized by the Antillean government.

The letter was sent on September 15 to Carol Bode, senior research analyst at IMED. The letter contains numerous mistakes. Apparently, it would have been sent by the Antillean government, but the Antillean coat of arms [in the letter] contains six instead of five starlets. At the same time, the author of the letter states that it would have been sent by "the government of Curacao". The signature at the bottom of the letter is illegible, moreover, contrary to custom, the name of the signatory is not mentioned underneath the signature. Instead, the letter is signed by "The Department of Education of the Netherlands Antilles".

During the weekly government press conference, minister Leeflang went ballistic about the brutality of the forgers. "The Antillean government can not recognize medical schools. They are free to set up shop here, since we have freedom of education. The only thing that is required is a business licence. They are outside Antillean educational legislature and are not recognized. It is their own responsibility to secure recognition, be it through an US based or European based university or through other organisations."

The minister emphasizes that medical schools no longer get recognition since 2006, when she took office. From that time on, she and her staff are continuously pressurized by lobbyists and representatives of the medical schools to grant recognition. "But that is simply impossible. They are not part of our system of education. Based on our legislation, there's no way that we can recognize them. Apparently, this is not to the liking of some people, and the decision was taken to forge official documents."

Leeflang announces a thorough review of the case and also announces that she will contact the Attorney General.

THE Straits Times on Friday made it clear that it was not about to apologise to Preston University for telling its readers the truth about its credentials - or rather, its lack of.

Said Editor Han Fook Kwang: 'We stand by our story and am satisfied that our journalist was accurate in her reporting of Preston University'.

In newspaper advertisements it took out on Friday, Preston University Chancellor Dr Jerry Haenisch confirmed that the university had no accreditation from any US Department of Education body - 'but, a degree mill, absolutely not'.

It did not apply for accreditation, he said, as 'the restrictive nature of the US accreditation system precludes widespread international operations'.

The term - degree or diploma mill - has been used by United States government bodies and newspapers round the world to refer to 'substandard or fraudulent colleges' that offer potential students degrees with little or no serious work.

They range from those which are simple frauds: a mailbox to which people send money in exchange for paper that purports to be a college degree to those that require some nominal work from the student but do not require college-level course work that is normally required for a degree.

Preston was taking issue with an ST article by journalist Sandra Davie, headlined 'At least 218 here have off-the-shelf degrees' on Aug 29. She reported that Preston University was an unaccredited institution and dubbed a degree mill in the US.

Two Singaporeans who graduated from the university were also named, including an options trading expert who said he submitted a thesis and was granted a doctorate within 16 months. He paid $18,000 in fees.

Ms Davie said on Friday her report was backed up by checks with accreditation boards, the highly-regarded US-based Chronicle of Education as well as American newspaper reports.

Oregon State's office of degree authorisation has Preston described as a 'degree supplier' in its database.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board also lists Preston as one of the institutions that offer 'fraudulent or substandard degrees'.

In 2001, the Chronicle reported that Preston University, then based in Wyoming, had invented more than half of its faculty list. The university later admitted that only 15 of the 49 faculty member's listed on the institution's website actively teach its students or serve as mentors.

Last year, US media reports said Preston University was forced to move its operations to Alabama because of the crackdown of diploma mills in Wyoming state.

Further checks by ST turned up a commentary in May this year that appeared in the Chronicle.

Mr Alan Contreras, director of Oregon state's office of degree authorisation had this to say about Preston setting up a campus in Finland: 'Who would bother to establish a substandard-degree provider in the depths of Finland?'

'The Americans who own Preston University would. That unaccredited supplier was flushed out of Wyoming and has gone to ground in Alabama, from where it has established what I will generously call a relationship with a Finnish degree supplier called Firelake University, which doesn't appear on lists of genuine Finnish colleges.'

'Preston operates all over the world from its base in Alabama, which has the worst degree-programme oversight in the United States.'

ST's checks found more details about its 'base' in Alabama.

In July, Dr Haenisch reportedly admitted to a newspaper that Preston is a distance-learning operation in the US, without a physical campus.

Ms Davie also noted that Ms Karen Kaylor, director of the United States Education Information Center in Singapore, had written to ST's Forum Page, urging parents and students to apply only to accredited institutions in the US to ensure that the degree earned is deemed valid and legitimate worldwide.

In her letter published on Thursday, Ms Kaylor noted that 'nearly all colleges and universities' would apply voluntarily for accreditation to establish their status.

'Accreditation, a process of peer review, is usually seen as the key to determining whether a degree program meets generally recognised academic, fiscal and structural standards,' she added.

Contacted on Friday, Mr Richard O'Rourke regional coordinator of Education USA disputed Preston's claim that being an accredited university would limit its expansion abroad.

He noted that more accredited US institutions were setting up campuses or offering their programmes overseas. In Singapore alone, there are at least six such universities here, including Cornell University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University.

The Straits Times contacted the Centre for Professional Studies which placed the newspaper ads.

One of its directors, Dr Juergen Rudolph, said the centre, which is registered as a private school with the Education Ministry, used to offer Preston University courses.

The ad was placed as a 'gesture of goodwill' to Preston University graduates here, some of whom contributed to the costs of the ad.

Three Freehold Regional school administrators who gained advanced degrees from a suspected "diploma mill" were ordered by the state yesterday to remove the degrees from their titles, while the state also alerted all districts to the laws against using such institutions.

The state Commission on Higher Education sent the "cease-and-desist" letters to Freehold Superintendent James Wasser and two of his assistants who had gained doctorates from Breyer State University, an online program that had at least twice lost its certification.

The degrees had allowed the three administrators to gain raises under their contracts, as well as tuition reimbursements. Whether they would have to return the money was unclear, but they were ordered to remove any credit of the doctorates from their official titles, such as the appendices of "Dr." or "EdD."

In addition, state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy sent letters to every district reminding educators of the state's existing laws barring the use of unaccredited schools to gain certification or other advancement.

...here is a rundown of some of the major legislation that passed yesterday and will be landing on the Governor’s desk later this month:

...SB 823 (Perata): To prevent “diploma mill” abuses by private post secondary education and vocational education for which state oversight and regulation has lapsed.

Alabama education officials are cracking down on the exploding market for Internet courses and degrees and have taken action against four unaccredited Birmingham-based online colleges.

"These are not real schools and are operating in ways that are not in the best interest of their students," said Lynn Thrower, the associate general counsel assigned by Bradley Byrne, chancellor of the state Department of Postsecondary Education, to ramp up enforcement.

Last week, Chadwick University, which operates out of an office building on Magnolia Avenue near Five Points South, was notified its license to offer degrees had been revoked. The department also denied applications to operate online schools from Southern State University and Paramount University of Technology, which listed their headquarters in Birmingham but were found to have nothing but mailboxes in the city.

Madison University of Business and Technology withdrew its application after failing to meet requirements, department officials said.

Alabama had become a haven for questionable online operations, which have exploded in recent years thanks to the ease of creating virtual schools on the Web, department officials said. The online for-profit businesses offer a vast array of degrees, from hypnotherapy to doctorates in economics.

Several schools set up shop in Alabama to market degrees to consumers nationally and internationally. Until Byrne assigned full-time staff to aggressively enforce regulations, the department simply was processing applications from the schools.

"It obviously did not get much priority from the previous chancellor," Byrne said, referring to Roy Johnson. "We had not done the job we should have. Now, we are exercising much more proactive oversight."

Byrne said legitimate providers of online education fill an important role in society, but he said the so-called diploma mills can victimize consumers, businesses and legitimate schools.

People often are induced to sign up for large student loans, Byrne said, but once the money is paid to the school, the students don't receive the degree or certification promised.

Some operators offer degrees in exchange for cash, requiring little or no course work. The degrees are marketed in the United States but are also heavily marketed abroad, in Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East, where there is a premium on an American degree.

Businesses duped:

In some cases, customers sign up with the online companies, pay thousands of dollars in tuition, buy books and complete assignments, only to find out later that their degrees are worthless. In general, degrees for the unaccredited schools aren't recognized by other schools or by employers.

But governments and businesses are sometimes duped into reimbursing students for their tuition, and sometimes the phony degrees are used to get raises and promotions.

In 10 states, it is illegal to use an unaccredited degree as a credential when seeking a job or promoting yourself professionally. Alabama is not among those states.

"I think it is important to protect the consumers in Alabama," Byrne said.

A first round of enforcement actions, announced in July, closed the books on 18 private institutions, including Birmingham-based Breyer State University.

Breyer State degrees have been at the center of several controversies across the country. In August, three New Jersey educators were found to have received $10,750 in reimbursement from their employers for unaccredited degrees from Breyer, which allowed them to get $2,500-a-year raises.

Thrower, who has headed the Postsecondary Department's crackdown, said more action is on the way. New rules, effective Oct. 1, will require that schools seeking a license to issue degrees in Alabama have, or be actively pursuing, accreditation from an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Chadwick started 18 years ago with educational programs by mail. It has never sought accreditation.

It was founded by Lloyd Clayton, who also founded Clayton College of Natural Health, another long-running unaccredited college that is on watch lists of unaccredited schools maintained by several states. Clayton College remains in business.

Chadwick University, until recently, had a virtual campus pictured on its Web site, through which students could navigate to campus buildings housing different departments. The school offered degrees in business, criminal justice and social and behavioral sciences. Now the Web site simply lists contact information.

Thrower said that among many violations the department found, Chadwick did not have the required $20,000 bond that would pay refunds to students if the school failed, and it did not provide the department with educational credentials of its faculty.

`Not a diploma mill':

In response to questions from The Birmingham News, Chadwick officials said the school is not a diploma mill. Chadwick chose not to seek accreditation and was not required to, they said.

"It is absolutely clear that Chadwick is not a diploma mill as Chadwick does not offer degrees for a fee and has always required very substantial work from its students," school officials said in an e-mailed statement.

But a 2004 investigation by the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office, raised questions about Chadwick. The GAO report found that a manager at the National Nuclear Security Administration received a bachelor's degree in 1992 from Chadwick but never attended classes and obtained his degree based on 30 credits for life experience, plus several college-level examination program tests and nine correspondence courses. The employee reported to GAO investigators that he read a book, wrote a paper and took a final exam for each of the nine courses.

In its statement, the school said that it has not accepted new students since 2002 and has 48 students who are finishing their course work. The school said it planned to end its operation by March 2009. With its license revoked, Chadwick cannot offer degrees, Thrower said, and any student promised one should be due a refund.

Can't give credentials:

On Aug. 14, a postsecondary investigator went to two listed addresses in Birmingham for Southern State University, one at Chase Corporate Center and the other a "virtual office space" - 4000 Eagle Point Corporate Drive - but neither office was staffed or had any equipment. The president's address is in West Covina, Calif.

"You get there, and it is nothing," Thrower said. "No sign of anything. It's just a maildrop."

In correspondence with the department, the school was unable to provide proper financial statements, a description of the educational backgrounds of its instructors or a curriculum that was consistent with accepted standards for universities.

Madison University of Business and Technology withdrew its application after the Alabama Commission on Higher Education declined to approve its education program plan. Though the school lists a Birmingham address, its correspondence is directed to the school president's address in Gulfport, Miss. "We have asked them to cease soliciting students," Thrower said.

An application by Paramount University, which also has no physical office, was rejected after the school failed to offer evidence it was seeking accreditation.

"They were not able to meet the most rudimentary requirements," Thrower said. "Clearly, they were just not knowledgeable about how to operate a school."

Report cards start Jan. 1:

Alan Contreras, administrator of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization, has been a vocal critic of the practices of unaccredited colleges and degree mills. Alabama, he said, had earned a reputation as one of the "seven sorry sisters," states that had lax oversight of the industry. He is pleased with Alabama's new attitude.

"It is really good to see," Contreras said. "A lot of people around the country and around the world are watching what they do."

Tougher enforcement in several states has online operations scrambling to find a place to operate, with many fleeing to California, which let its law on licensing for-profit universities lapse, Contreras said. That's where Breyer State now claims to be based.

Thrower said the Department of Postsecondary Education has developed an annual report card system for both public two-year colleges and private colleges licensed by the department.

Beginning Jan. 1, consumers will be able to go to the department's Web site and check into a school's accreditation, costs, graduation rates and courses offered. "They will have this information that they will be able to use to make an informed decision," Thrower said.

"This is not a witch hunt," she said. "We are trying to move private, for-profit education in a positive direction and close down the diploma mills that give other schools a bad name."

The American Association for Higher Education and Accreditation began in 1870. Or so says its Web site.

But that claim, along with a number of others, falls apart on close inspection. For example, though it lists a Washington, D.C., location, that address turns out to be a UPS mailbox. Its actual headquarters are in Central Florida.

Most significantly, AAHEA has assumed the identity of a now-defunct organization with a similar name—the American Association for Higher Education. It has even acquired AAHE's old phone number. That comes as an unpleasant surprise to AAHE's former leadership, including Michael B. Goldstein, a higher-education lawyer with the Washington law firm Dow Lohnes, and a former member of AAHE's board. "Some of their activities appear, on their face, to be clearly unacceptable," he said.

What are those activities? AAHEA's Web site says the group is "dedicated to the advancement of higher education." However, its only stated goal for 2008 is dealing with "the problem of bullying in school." Under the heading "Sponsored Programs," a collage of photographs features the twin towers of the World Trade Center in flames, and what appear to be bloody footprints. Beneath it are the words "To be announced."

A Chronicle investigation has raised questions about AAHEA, which advertises itself as both a scholarly research organization and a college accreditor. It has also led to the resignation of Charles Grant, the group's chief executive, after just a week in office.

The apparent operator of AAHEA is D.A. (Doc) Brady. While his name is nowhere to be found on AAHEA's Web site, he is listed in the corporate records for AAHEA, filed with the State of Florida in 2007.

In several interviews and e-mail exchanges, Mr. Brady defended his organization against critics he contends are biased against him. He said he and his colleagues were motivated solely by the personal satisfaction of running AAHEA, not by any monetary considerations. "Not a single person has benefited a nickel out of this thing," said Mr. Brady.

It's not for lack of trying. The association offers annual memberships for $99, and its Web site includes a page for visitors to make donations, ranging from $10 to $1-million (those who give the top amount become honorary presidents of AAHEA). Among the programs in the works, which the money will support, according to the Web site, are safari trips to Africa, online art shows, and a "Learning Course of the month contest."

Fuzzy Details

When asked about his background, Mr. Brady said it's "none of your business." An online biography describes him as self-taught, but also says he holds doctorates in clinical hypnotherapy and business administration, though it does not mention the institutions from which he graduated. According to the bio, he has worked as a consultant for television programs, including Dr. Phil, and is a "nationally certified motivational instructor."

Mr. Brady is the chief executive of the National Board of Professional and Ethical Standards, which offers doctorates in clinical hypnotherapy, among other degrees. The doctoral program costs $4,998 and uses the Ericksonian method of hypnosis. According to its frequently-asked-questions page, the organization is under review for accreditation from Mr. Brady's other organization, AAHEA, which it notes is "very old."

Charles Grant said he responded to an advertisement for the position of chief executive of the group. Mr. Grant had just retired from San Jacinto College North, a community college in Houston, after 25 years. He started there as an instructor and ended as its president. The idea of helping a higher-education organization like the association, he said, appealed to him. "I'm a sympathetic person," said Mr. Grant.

When pressed, Mr. Grant said he had no idea how many members the group had, or what exactly it did. Nor had he ever met Doc Brady in person, or anyone else from the organization. He didn't know its financial state or where it was located. He was also not aware of Mr. Brady's other organizations.

Mr. Grant said that he had not received any money from AAHEA, but that he had been told he would receive a salary. A few days after his interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Grant sent an e-mail message to AAHEA with the subject line "Not Working," resigning from the position, and forwarded a copy to The Chronicle.

Connection Disputed

All along, AAHEA has claimed that it is the same entity as the American Association for Higher Education. In fact, AAHE, which promoted the scholarship of teaching and learning for nearly four decades, closed its doors in 2005 after a sharp decline in membership.

Its president at the time was Clara M. Lovett. Ms. Lovett, who is president emerita of Northern Arizona University, said she had never heard of AAHEA. Neither had Mr. Goldstein, the AAHE board member. Both disputed the notion that AAHEA is in any way the continuation of AAHE.

Other assertions by Mr. Brady have also been contradicted. For example, he said that the archives of AAHE, housed at the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University, are scheduled to be transferred to AAHEA's headquarters once there is sufficient space.

Not so, according to Brad Bauer, associate archivist for collection development and curator of the Western European collections at Hoover. Mr. Bauer, who is in charge of the AAHE archives, said he had heard "nothing of the sort" and that any such transfer would be extremely unusual. "I've had no discussions of any sort with any organization claiming to be the successor to AAHE," he said.

Mr. Brady has also said that his organization is going through the review process to become an approved college accreditor. Jane Glickman, an Education Department spokeswoman, said that a check revealed that the department had had no contact with AAHEA. Jan Riggs, director of membership services and special projects for the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, said she had been contacted by Mr. Brady but that she "had no idea what he was talking about."

In response, Mr. Brady criticized the approval process for accreditors, saying it was too cumbersome. "I think it's retarded," he said. In an e-mail message, he indicated that his association may be reconsidering becoming an approved accreditor because it's "not worth all of this aggravation."

It is unclear how many members AAHEA has signed up, or whether the group has received donations. Michael F. Healy, who works in the marketing and communications department at the University of Georgia's Center for Continuing Education, said he contacted AAHEA recently because he was interested in purchasing its mailing list. He was told that he must become a member first. A colleague at another university, Mr. Healy said, paid the association $1,000 for its mailing list. He declined to name the colleague.

Along with its other problems, AAHEA appears to have borrowed material on its Web site without attribution. In June a law firm working for the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training—an accreditor recognized by the Education Department—sent the association a letter demanding that it remove documents it had copied directly from ACCET's Web site. In some cases, the documents still had the continuing education and training group's name in the text.

AAHEA did not respond, according to Roger J. Williams, executive director of ACCET, until this week, when the documents were taken down. In an e-mail message, Mr. Brady wrote that the documents had not been copyrighted and that the material was not taken verbatim.

When informed that Mr. Brady had accused him of unfairly attacking AAHEA, Mr. Williams was unable to suppress his laughter. "I find their indignation surprising, to say the least," he said.

No explanation, no excuse, no logical reason can be found to even attempt to justify what has happened in the Freehold Regional School District where top school officials got degrees from a university that has been described as a "diploma mill."

Adding insult to injury, the officials were reimbursed with taxpayer money for the tuition and then given higher salaries because they obtained ad vanced degrees.

What superintendent H. James Wasser, assistant superintendent Donna Evangelista and retired assistant superintendent Frank Tanzini did was an absolute ripoff of the district. At least one member of the school board is asking them to return the money.

We're not sure that's enough of a mea culpa. If their students pulled this sort stunt, they would likely be punished harshly.

According to a story first reported by the Asbury Park Press, Wasser, Evangelista and Tanzini received degrees from Breyer State University -- a school that offers courses on line and has been described by officials in more than one state as "an apparent diploma mill." The website of the so-called distance university notes that is not accredited by an agency approved by the federal Education Department.

The Freehold district paid $8,700 in tuition for the educators and gave each of them $2,500 annual raises based on their having obtained doctoral degrees.

Since the charade was uncovered, there has been a lot of fingerpointing. The state Education Department has contended that it is up to local officials to make sure staff members have the appropriate credentials from a school accredited by the federal government. Others have said the state Education Department needs to do a better job of regulating these employees.

All those things are true, but the bigger scandal is that educators, who know better, engaged in this kind of decep tion. These are the people who are supposed to set the educational gold standard for the community. They are sup posed to be role models for children.

State Senate President Richard Codey said he'll introduce legislation to stop this insanity. Education Commissioner Lucille Davy is also planning regulations to guard against a recurrence. Both are appropriate responses.

Still, one has to ask about the integrity of the school officials who did this. Why would it be necessary for a district to tell a top educator that a degree from a diploma mill simply won't cut it? It's akin to writing in the parents' handbook, "Don't lock your child in a dark basement." Shouldn't some things be obvious?

Psst . . . Wanna buy a degree from a diploma mill and stick taxpayers with the bill?

If you're a public school educator, New Jersey won't stop you.

State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said she is powerless to prevent local school boards from handing out tax money to administrators who boost their pay by obtaining degrees with little or no academic value.

When it issued a nine-page report last week, the department entered a growing national controversy about the value of online degrees. But instead of announcing tough new standards, the department made only a few suggestions.

"I feel sorry for New Jersey. Here they had an opportunity to step up to the plate, and they opted not to," said former FBI agent Allen Ezell, who investigated diploma mill fraud for 11 years, then wrote three books on the subject. "I would have thought New Jersey would have had a little more brass than that."

Freehold Regional High School District became the epicenter of the diploma mill controversy in New Jersey when the superintendent and two top administrators obtained degrees from an online school that has been deemed an "apparent diploma mill" by Alabama officials.

After completing an investigation into the administrators' degrees, the education department's report stated there was "no sustainable evidence" that the administrators "possessed the prerequisite intent to deceive when they obtained the degrees" from Breyer State University, which has been chased out of two states and an African country.

The education department report suggested — but did not require — that high school administrators, in the future, earn college degrees from reputable, accredited schools.

None of the three administrators investigated — Superintendent H. James Wasser, Assistant Superintendent Donna Evangelista and recently retired Assistant Superintendent Frank Tanzini — was required to pay back the $10,750 they received in taxpayer money to obtain degrees from Breyer State.

The board gave raises — $2,500 each per year — for their advanced degrees.

Breyer has been booted out of Idaho, Alabama and the African nation of Liberia.

"Breyer State is a diploma mill. There's no question about it," said Alan Contreras of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization. "It's obviously a waste of taxpayers' money."

But Education Commissioner Davy said local school boards must write contracts and pay benefits that make sense for taxpayers.

"It is wrong for people to use those diploma mill degrees to increase their salaries," she said. "But I don't have the authority to stop them."

More of the same

On the same day New Jersey issued its report, the Asbury Park Press discovered three more educators who earned what experts say are bogus degrees.

Freehold Regional employees Cheryl Lanza, an English teacher, and Lorraine Taddei-Graef, a learning disabilities teacher consultant, both obtained degrees from Breyer State. Neither could be reached for comment.

Freehold taxpayers reimbursed Lanza $2,050 for her "doctorate of philosophy in education." Taddei-Graef was not reimbursed, according to school district records.

Meanwhile, in the Asbury Park school district, Acting School Superintendent James T. Parham said he paid about $3,000 to receive a "Master of Arts" with a major in special education from Almeda University in Idaho.

Parham said his degree was based on his life experience, and that it took him about a month to put his resume together to get the diploma.

Asked if he received his Almeda degree in return for merely submitting his resume, Parham said, "I also had to do a paper."

How long was the paper?

"The paper must have been about two, maybe three pages," he said.

Parham said the Asbury Park school district did not reimburse him for the master's degree, which he received on Aug. 6, 2006.

Asked why he would pay for the degree, Parham said he thought it "might look good" on his resume, and that "it might add something."

Seven months after receiving the degree, Parham was appointed by the school board at a salary of $110,620 to take the job held by suspended Superintendent Antonio Lewis, who is under criminal investigation by the state Attorney General's Office.

Parham, who was a vice principal in the district, said his Almeda degree did not help him become acting superintendent.

A degree in surgery

Ezell, the former FBI agent, said Almeda's degrees are "a blatant fraud."

With an estimated 4 million students expected to take at least one online college course this fall, national experts like Ezell, University of Illinois professor George Gollin and Contreras say that taxpayers — and students — need to be vigilant against schools offering big credentials for only a little work.

Gollin, a national expert on bogus online degrees, once submitted his resume to a diploma mill and received a master's degree in public administration. Later, he told the school he changed his mind and said he wanted a doctorate degree in thoracic surgery. Once he sent in the money, the school agreed.

Gollin, a physics professor, has never operated on anyone.

He found it surprising that a school superintendent, who is supposed to set the highest academic standards, would purchase a questionable degree, Gollin said.

"We're trying to deal with truth in analysis when we provide education," he said. "To have a superintendent of schools going around, buying false credentials in order to fool people into thinking he has expertise . . . that's just a sign of poor integrity that is astonishing to me."

In his doctoral dissertation, Wasser stated he was mentored by Dominick L. Flarey, the former president of Breyer State.

After investigating the school, Alabama canceled its license and forced the school to leave the state.

So did Idaho. The school currently operates out of a post office box in Los Angeles.

'That's their opinion'

In an e-mail, Flarey said he was no longer president and would not discuss the institution or the degrees awarded to Freehold administrators.

"I have nothing at all to do with the administration of the school. I only teach some courses," he said. Breyer State last week did not list a president on its Web site.

Responding to criticism of Breyer by Ezell, Gollin and Contreras, Wasser said: "That's their opinion."

Wasser staunchly defended the work he did for his degree.

"I did it. I would do it again," said Wasser. "The only thing I would probably do differently, is now that I am aware of this word "accreditation,' I would probably thoroughly research that."

Wasser said he worked for more than a year on his doctoral dissertation and is proud of the final product.

"I am not here to defend Breyer State. If you want to do that, that's your business, or the business of the FBI, the CIA, whoever wants to do it. . . . I can only defend my education and my dissertation."

He said he could have charged taxpayers more.

"In the future, in a few years, what are people going to say about the degrees people earn online? Because online education is the wave of the future now. It's not attending class and sitting in a classroom, which I could have done.

"I could have left my job at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. . . . I could have done that. I chose not to. I could have cost the taxpayers a tremendous amount of money," Wasser said.

In Asbury Park, Parham accessed Almeda University's Web site while he was being interviewed in his office and pointed to an accrediting agency Almeda says has sanctioned its online education program.

But Gollin, who has been calling attention to diploma mills for years, said the bogus schools also often create phony accreditation agencies that try to give a veneer of acceptability to the academically indefensible.

Ezell said only degrees accredited by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation have value and are officially recognized by the federal government. The list of accreditation agencies is available at www.CHEA.org.

"A 10-year-old knows how to use Google," Ezell said. "It's nothing complex. It's all right there."

Jim Harlan is a Harvard-educated venture capitalist with a keen interest in energy policy and a half-million dollars to spend on his campaign. He decided three months ago to make his first run for public office.

Vinny Mendoza, an organic farmer and real estate investor with graduate degrees from a now-defunct diploma mill [LaSalle University], wants quickly to end the war in Iraq and has spent hardly a dime on his campaign. He's run for office four times in the past four years.

What unites them is a commitment to returning Louisiana's 1st Congressional District to Democratic hands for the first time since 1977. Both will compete in their party's primary, the winner to take on U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson...

OCALA -- Bernard LeCorn, who says he is qualified to run for School Board because he has a doctorate degree... from a diploma mill...

Meanwhile, LeCorn’s doctorate comes from the American College of Metaphysical Theology, an unaccredited diploma mill that sells doctorate degrees for $249.

The school Web site, which lists a Golden Valley, Minn. address, says you can also get a master’s degree for $209 and a bachelor’s for $149, all without taking one class. Degrees are mailed within a month of payment in many cases.

LeCorn insists his doctorate in pastoral administration is legitimate because the degree recognizes his life’s work as an educator and a pastor for First Missionary Full Baptist Church of Ocala on Southeast 35th Court, just north of Belleview.

“I still feel that my qualifications are better than my opponents,” said LeCorn, referring to the colleges that he claimed had awarded him degrees.

The metaphysical college’s Web site — www.americancollege.com — acknowledges that it is not accredited. It states that accreditation is not important in theology and metaphysics colleges.

When the Star-Banner called the number listed on the Web site, the phone number was disconnected.

The school site states that paying for a degree can boost any applicants quest for a better job: ‘’On the day that you enroll in a degree program, you may legitimately add an important line to your resume…”

To get a doctorate, the school site states that after paying $249, a student gets full credit for life experiences through living life in your own community without going to classes. The doctorate also includes “ministerial credentials at no extra charge.”

The site defines metaphysics as “the science which investigates first causes of existence and knowledge. It seeks to explain the nature of being and the origin and structure of the world, uniting man’s physical, mental, and spiritual character into its true nature of holism.”

During a check of LeCorn’s background, it was also discovered that the 54-year-old has had his driver’s license suspended twice in the last year for not paying his car insurance premium.

He said he quickly paid the fee moments after his license was revoked on June 9. It was reinstated on June 25.

LeCorn was also cited in February 2005 for speeding through the Ward Highlands Elementary School zone. A Marion County deputy pulled LeCorn over for doing 50 mph in a 20-mph zone at 8 a.m.

“I just didn’t see the flashing lights,” he said.

LeCorn has had financial trouble as well, according to a foreclosure case filed at the Marion County Courthouse. LeCorn purchased the First Missionary Full Gospel Baptist Church near Belleview and the mortgage was held by Robert Hobbs.

Hobbs filed for foreclosure in 2006 after LeCorn fell far behind on his payments, which were more than $