Operation Dipscam
Encyclopedia
Operation DIPSCAM was a series of investigations carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, the General Accounting Office, the Committee on Education and the Workforce and other agencies in the United States
in the 1980s. It led to more than twenty convictions and the closing of 39 diploma mills.
DIPSCAM (Operation Diploma Scam) was a series of separate investigations conducted by the Charlotte, North Carolina Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1980–1991. Dipscam began from the initial investigation of Southeastern University, Greenville, SC in 1980, and evolved into multiple investigations of diploma mills throughout the United States and abroad. During Dipscam, 40 diplomas with transcripts were purchased; 16 federal search warrants were executed; 19 Federal Grand Jury indictments were returned, 40 schools were dismantled, and obtained over 20 convictions. The FBI identified over 12,500 ‘graduates’ of these institutions from school records, which included federal, state, and county employees. Seized school records indicated many ‘graduates’ were employed in business, education, and law enforcement, in addition to the medical field.
Each investigation has its own characteristics, some one-person operations, others with numerous employees. Several investigations warranted the FBI joining forces with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service to complete other aspects of these cases. Information gained during each of these investigations was shared with appropriate federal authorities and was the subject of hearings by several Congressional committees.
These hearings were by the Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests of the Select Committee on Aging (Senator Claude Pepper), 12/11/1985, ‘Fraudulent Credentials’ in which a prior Dipscam defendant was brought by the U.S. Marshals from federal prison to testify at this hearing. Previously, this witness operated Southwestern University, Tucson, AZ and Columbus, Ohio, and grossed over $2,000,000. Prior to these hearings, committee investigators purchased a Ph.D. diploma from a CA school for Cong. Pepper, thus he was now “Dr. Pepper”.
Other Congressional hearings were later held, those being Committee on Government Affairs (both House and Senate) (Senator Susan Collins, Congressman Tom Davis), 5/11-12/04, ‘Bogus Degrees and Unmet Expectations: Are taxpayer dollars subsidizing Diploma Mills”. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted investigations of several schools for the committee, even purchasing several diplomas from Lexington University for Senator Collins. In at least one instance, the committee investigator registered as a student at one of these schools and several of her recorded telephone conversations (and by other investigators) were played during these hearings.
Lastly, hearings were held by the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, 9/23/04,‘Are Current Safeguards Protecting Taxpayers Against Diploma Mills’.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, the General Accounting Office, the Committee on Education and the Workforce and other agencies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1980s. It led to more than twenty convictions and the closing of 39 diploma mills.
DIPSCAM (Operation Diploma Scam) was a series of separate investigations conducted by the Charlotte, North Carolina Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 1980–1991. Dipscam began from the initial investigation of Southeastern University, Greenville, SC in 1980, and evolved into multiple investigations of diploma mills throughout the United States and abroad. During Dipscam, 40 diplomas with transcripts were purchased; 16 federal search warrants were executed; 19 Federal Grand Jury indictments were returned, 40 schools were dismantled, and obtained over 20 convictions. The FBI identified over 12,500 ‘graduates’ of these institutions from school records, which included federal, state, and county employees. Seized school records indicated many ‘graduates’ were employed in business, education, and law enforcement, in addition to the medical field.
Each investigation has its own characteristics, some one-person operations, others with numerous employees. Several investigations warranted the FBI joining forces with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service to complete other aspects of these cases. Information gained during each of these investigations was shared with appropriate federal authorities and was the subject of hearings by several Congressional committees.
These hearings were by the Subcommittee on Housing and Consumer Interests of the Select Committee on Aging (Senator Claude Pepper), 12/11/1985, ‘Fraudulent Credentials’ in which a prior Dipscam defendant was brought by the U.S. Marshals from federal prison to testify at this hearing. Previously, this witness operated Southwestern University, Tucson, AZ and Columbus, Ohio, and grossed over $2,000,000. Prior to these hearings, committee investigators purchased a Ph.D. diploma from a CA school for Cong. Pepper, thus he was now “Dr. Pepper”.
Other Congressional hearings were later held, those being Committee on Government Affairs (both House and Senate) (Senator Susan Collins, Congressman Tom Davis), 5/11-12/04, ‘Bogus Degrees and Unmet Expectations: Are taxpayer dollars subsidizing Diploma Mills”. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted investigations of several schools for the committee, even purchasing several diplomas from Lexington University for Senator Collins. In at least one instance, the committee investigator registered as a student at one of these schools and several of her recorded telephone conversations (and by other investigators) were played during these hearings.
Lastly, hearings were held by the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, 9/23/04,‘Are Current Safeguards Protecting Taxpayers Against Diploma Mills’.
See also
- Accreditation millAccreditation millAn accreditation mill is an organization that purports to award educational accreditation to higher education institutions without having government authority or recognition from mainstream academia to operate as an accreditor. Implicit in the terminology is the assumption that the "mill" has low...
- University Degree ProgramUniversity Degree ProgramUniversity Degree Program is an unaccredited consortium of diploma mills run by Americans Jason and Caroline Abraham beginning in the 1990s...
- List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
Further reading
- Diploma Mills: Degrees of Fraud by David Wood Stewart and Henry A. Spille. New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: Macmillan Publishing CompanyMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
1988. Abstract, Education Resources Information Center - Degree Mills: the Billion Dollar Industry That Has Sold More than a Million Fake College Diplomas by Allen Ezell and John BearJohn BearJohn Bjorn Bear is an American authority on distance education and a writer of creative reference works. Bear holds bachelor and master degrees from University of California, Berkeley and a doctorate from Michigan State University...
. Amherst, New YorkAmherst, New YorkAmherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...
: Prometheus Books, 2005. - Not For Novelty Purposes Only: Fake Degrees, Phony Transcripts, and Verification Services. Paper presented at 2004 Biennial Conference of the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC)