Fake degrees: Exposing Canadians with phoney credentials (Marketplace)

this is your marketplace we exposed the shady business of fake degrees magnitude will blow your mind who's fooling me we want to talk to you about your questionable PhD work we tracked down the fakers why would you purchase a fake degree we follow the trail to Pakistan reveal the operation behind it all there is no u.s. Phoenix is no physical location you can't afford to miss this all right Eric time to get schooled we're looking to beef up our credentials there are so many online programs out there hundreds to choose from but how do you know which one to dress I just found you guys online and I was looking to see if I could get a degree or inquire about some education so what's involved in the schooling this is just our first step in exposing an international underground scheme so no courses no classes I just pay a fee and I get a degree just out of curiosity does no one I can meet up with chat or chat with in person address I get to choose the date when I graduate we're on a journey to find out how long it will take for these journalists to become doctors to get the lowdown I'm meeting up with former FBI agent Alan he's out it's a bonanza there's a worldwide market for academic credentials the paper opens the door to getting the job getting a promotion getting the race he spent four decades investigating schools offering fake degrees they're called diploma mills we're not talking about classroom we're talking about learning it's all smoke and mirrors and a facade none of it exists American research shows more than half of all new PhDs in the u.s. our fate we want to know how big the problem is here in Canada okay guys ready to check out this database let's do it I'm ready we get our hands on an exclusive database of more than 800 Canadians from coast to coast to coast that show they could have faked degrees check this out a medical doctor in a small town in DC a former police officer on this list professor who teaches at Seneca College there's even an ordained minister in here politicians pharmacists business owners engineers they're all on our list we're starting our investigation with counselors treating serious medical conditions with fake degrees on turn this one to getting wired up to see what they'll reveal in person posing as a couple in crisis are you - prepared for some relationship counseling as ready as we'll ever be first up meet Alfred Oh Jo he treats ADHD anger management depression PTSD the list goes on certificate Oh Jo says he was educated in Nigeria and the u.s. his online profile says he has a master's in counseling psychology from Ashley University so how long have you been in business so Oh Jo's degree is bogus but maybe his counseling skills are real I think the barrier to be honest it's just this feeling of inequality exactly how many how many fingers you're five no same height no but ever since I know much of this session is focused on giving us metaphors about relationships like this one about lasagna Nikolas I'm a creative designer but listen for 30 seconds you move 84 and now you know all right so you know it's not on its cohort good right so we're just journalists but this session seems odd [Music] so at Western University I check in with someone who can break it down for us I'm a psychology professor dr. Alan leach I we hold the public's trust in that the public has an expectation of a quality of service because these are the most vulnerable times in their lives we show him parts of our session with Alfred Oh Jo his opinion I don't want to comment so much directly on this individual although probably anybody seeing that would raise their eyebrow and say geez is that what therapy is that's what I get over the clothesline with my neighbor that is not therapy I see you we go in a second time with more questions about Oh Jo's education this is the question that really seems to throw him for a loop wait a second his LinkedIn profile says he went there from 2007 to 2008 I don't wish to go back into reference we did and with that he walks out of the room looks like he needs a break from our team's questions but now I have some of my own we've tried to contact you more than once take share your perspective about your master's degree from Ashley University please give us a call back now Fred Oh Jo never calls us back so we try again in person remember he's been counseling patients for over two decades mr. Oh Jo my name is Asha Tomlinson c.b.c marketplace we want to talk about your questionable degree from Ashley University why not we reached out to you several times why wouldn't you to share your perspective on why you have this degree from have a list of Canadians and not includes you you're on that list why would you purchase a fake degree what about the people who believe you knew as a counselor who trusts you in your credentials sir Oh Joe never admits to buying his degree and after we reach out to him he pulls down his LinkedIn profile and says he's no longer taking new clients actions speak louder than words you got the message across he had a fake degree and he's not gonna expose himself any further we're still trying to by our very own fake degrees hi is this Ashford University this is portland's University correct so check this out I just found out Nita University when you check them out online the first thing that pops up is life experience degree I'm looking to get a degree almeida core lens Gatesville Ashwood all say they'll trade in life experience four credit hours send in your resume your money and just wait for your degree in the man so what's the total I'd be paying get the whole package including proof we attended the school but we're told it's apparently aboveboard so what you're saying is I'll meet as legit not what we've heard Almeida has never been real it's never been legitimately traditionally accredited by a recognized entity in its life period while we wait for our degrees to arrive we notice Almeida shows up dozens of times in our research including with this Toronto psychotherapist and registered social worker dr. Gilbert caresses he says he has a Masters in Social Work from the Philippines and this PhD in biblical counseling his online profile boasts a 4.0 GPA treating very serious issues substance abuse PTSD ADHD child abuse and more we don't need to ask about his degree it's hanging on his wall your PhD mamita remember Almeida does not exist how long does it take to do a PhD well two years two years just finish your dissertation but let's left to right right and right and just research is easy nowadays because you have internet paste [Music] can I stop you right there yes you can so I can come two years no psychology professor dr. Alan leach Hyde says writing a dissertation usually takes much longer than that typically four years sometimes five years and sometimes even longer original work it's not a click and paste activity we give Gilbert caresses a second chance to explain his schooling wait what it's in California now and when our producers continue to test his skills asking for advice on how to handle long-distance relationships things get really bizarre am i easily tempted yeah not to my knowledge even proposed to by a Assyrian verbalise professor Lee chide is not impressed you don't disclose things of a personal nature inappropriate that are focused on yourself if you're just telling these stories because you're trying to be seen by your clients in certain ways because it makes you feel better or whatever those are founded violations we spend weeks asking caresses for an on-camera interview he says no so we meet up with him near his work I'm Asha Tomlinson with CBC Marketplace our investigation shows that Almeida University is a fake institution why did you go who do really know uh you just paid a fee and we were able to order a PhD well do any work some people worry that some people cheat do you gee I do got cheap but when we check his thesis over 30 percent was plagiarized don't you think you're breaking the trust of your clients I'm not unusual no excuse Caressa says he understood his thesis had been approved by Almeida but now he's taken down his LinkedIn profile and is no longer listed as a therapist on the clinic's web site why is your profile removed from the website free work when we check the clinic confirms they terminated his contract does this professor have a fake degree else is faking it this is your marketplace the real deal on your marketplace we've spent months undercover investigating Canadians with bogus degrees and now we're about to get some of our own all right moment of truth let's see what we have Wow so our degrees are here they are I have a PhD in psychology from Almeida University PhD in psychology Gatesville University take a look we get our degrees but that's not all we also get transcripts with a list of bogus courses we never took attendance records and your GPA 3.9 - and that name we use check it out that's right it's marketplace back on the case we find others who have degrees just like ours so I just found a professor at Seneca College in Toronto here the broth go grab which has a master's degree in computer science from Almeida University we've heard that school name before he teaches computer applications and business applications he's also taught at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University - posing as potential students our team meets up with him to find out more about his so-called masters from Almeida oh you did you can't remember where he got his degree from 11 stone exams never heard of that before do you need a mouse in order to pierce through your ear like doesn't help boost your credibility now this isn't the first time an educator has been exposed [Music] who traveled to Pittsburg Kansas where a group of high school students made international headlines after they investigated their principal and heard two fake degrees a group of students had their doubts about their new principal their incoming new principal were resigned after their investigation into her credentials the story went viral when you started to dig deeper what were you finding a lot of discrepancies arose even just a simple google search brought up articles that mentioned the university she attended may be a scam and that it possibly could be a diploma mill the school they looked into Carlin's university it's also on our list we were calling the city in California where it was supposedly located and a city council official saying that that university had never even existed helped piece that together we tell them about the prof. we're investigating he's taught at several top Canadian universities and colleges and he's still teaching the main concern for me if I would be one of those students what does that say about the degree I have from that University was it say about the validity because at the university has this fraudulent professor who's to say that there weren't more we asked professor gravich repeatedly for an on-camera interview he maintains his degree from Almeida is legitimate and he did do 11 phone exams to complete his master's so why can't we speak with you you don't want to speak to us on camera at all to talk about your masters and why you attended this school that is linked to a diploma mill scheme you can college and so we follow up with Seneca College we're hoping you'll reconsider an interview to discuss this but they won't talk on camera either they say they have processes in place to vet their employees credentials and weeks after we contact gravich he removes Almeida University from his LinkedIn profile retired FBI agent Allen Ezell says that's not good enough what signal are they sending the other faculty members and their students they must set the example if they're not going to vet their own people who in the heck is that's 1,000% unacceptable where do all these fake degrees come from the paper trail leads to Pakistan no physical education this insider tells all this is your market place get more market place sign up for our weekly newsletter at cbc.ca slash marketplace the real deal on fake school we've uncovered more than 800 Canadians who could have fake degrees from hundreds of fake online schools I've been noticing that some of the school's websites look pretty similar when we dig a little deeper a pattern emerges I'm on Baychester right now and just looking at a picture of the Dean here I'm looking at another school regents also the picture of the Dean who has the same photo same name and seem right up on both schools turns out the faculty at some of these schools are just stock photos used on multiple websites and many of those schools track back to one major company in Pakistan exact the largest international diploma mill scheme out there the magnitude will blow your mind I mean really it makes a volcano look small we're talking probably grossing a billion dollars a year 35 bank accounts in 19 countries exact denies any involvement in the scheme and tells us they don't condone any alleged fraud by these fake schools but we track down a man on the inside a sales agent working out of this exact office in Islamabad a number of years ago he's asked us to conceal his identity due to safety concerns working experience as you know as an agent as a representative people for university that actually didn't exist he was the first point of contact for many people buying their degrees his pitch so I would say you don't have to attend any classes just log on to our website and you know and then just we would take your credit card number for your enrollment fee and all that there is no university actually no physical location but the person sitting next to me would pretend to be the counselor he says he quit because he didn't agree with the company's practices I think it should be closed no legal action should be taken the crackdown begins in New York City we're one of the top exact executives who mayor Hameed is being sentenced here today we're going in to get the details the judge spoke directly to huh me saying there are real victims and they are your victims in the end he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud then he'll be deported back to Pakistan he was also ordered to forfeit over five million dollars for his role in the scheme this conviction wasn't enough to stop exact fake schools are still up and running but our story doesn't end here we'll be following this in the months to come fasten your seatbelts is your car dealership ripping you off $1200 service they were recommending none of which was needed high-pressure sales felt like he was trying to scare me plus insider secrets when you're 100 percent commission you don't have a choice you live or die by this customer that's walking in why you're recommending service that isn't required on the vehicle auto repair ripoffs you can't afford to miss this ride [Music]

Channel: CBC News

Views: 2,744,603

Rating: 4.7336855 out of 5

Keywords: fake, degrees, Canadians, purchased, phoney, credentials, investigation, exposes, Marketplace, CBC News, Asha Tomlinson

Id: IHTg5zzFEKE

Length: 22min 26sec (1346 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 15 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Fyrefawx]

This is a common complaint from tradespeople in Alberta. You get guys coming in from Asia with little to no knowledge of a trade, but they have connections and they buy these fake certificates. This allows them to get good paying jobs in Alberta but they are insanely under qualified.

[u/chileangod]

Remembering how I initially struggled to get a job right out of engineering school looking at this gets me a special kind of pissed.

[u/Jrnail88]

What concerns me about all this is the lack of due diligence on the part of the employers. How are companies not vetting their employee's credentials before hiring, especially the ones focused on public health. Things like this should fall under criminal negligence.

[u/tucktaperesidue]

if you want to see all the scams/crimes that are starting and will be happening in Canada just look to the scams from the 3rd world countries where our replacement population comes from

[u/Yojimbo4133]

I bought one too. Just took 4 years and lots of student loan debt.

[u/thispostislava]

We are well aware that there are people being hired not only in my field of work but at my ACTUAL workplace who have bought their education.

I have two thoughts going on in my head about this.

1. The fuck is going on...
2. If you can't beat em, join em? (50/50 sarcasm)

[u/bumbumboogie]

Use the search bar in LinkedIn to search for those University names...there's tons.

[u/gaston60]

Is this list of cons with fake degrees available? If not, I think that it would only be fair to make it public so people know if they're being conned by some fake professionals they're currently dealing with.

[u/[deleted]]

Ex-college instructor here who actually knew this guy.

Community college faculty are stuck working on precarious contracts for years on end before even being considered for full time teaching positions.

Colleges are hiring Masters and Ph.d graduates as instructors to teach technicians and technologists, nurses, correctional officers, etc.

The province actually increases the institutions' funding, based partly on the level of degree faculty members have. Thus, there is immense pressure on instructors to get at minimum a Masters to even have a hope of a tenured position.

There is nothing in either Ministry guidelines or the Colleges' collective agreement stating one needs more than an undergraduate degree or trade designation in a subject being taught in order to qualify for a teaching position.

That said, this sort of deceit is inexcusable.