Operation Dipscam

Operation DIPSCAM (Operation Diploma Scam) was a series of investigations^[1] carried out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the General Accounting Office,^[2] the Committee on Education and the Workforce and other agencies in the United States in the 1980s. It led to more than twenty convictions^[1] and the closing of 39 diploma mills.^[3]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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^{[citation needed]}; 16 federal search warrants were executed^{[citation needed]}; 19 Federal Grand Jury indictments were returned^{[citation needed]}, 40 schools were dismantled^{[citation needed]}, and obtained over 20 convictions.^{[citation needed]} The FBI identified over 12,500 ‘graduates’ of these institutions from school records, which included federal, state, and county employees.^{[citation needed]} Seized school records indicated many ‘graduates’ were employed in business, education, and law enforcement, in addition to the medical field.^{[citation needed]}

Each investigation has its own characteristics, some one-person operations, others with numerous employees.^{[citation needed]} 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 mill
• University Degree Program
• List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Action Urged on Diploma Mills 27 September 2004, American Council on Education
2. ^ Ryan Singel (18 March 2004). "No Third Degree for Diploma Mills". Wired. http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2004/03/62689. 
3. ^ Diploma Mills Go Digital, eWENR Volume 13, Issue 4, July/August 2000

Further reading

• Diploma Mills: Degrees of Fraud by David Wood Stewart and Henry A. Spille. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company 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 Bear. Amherst, New York: 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)