And you thought U.S-based for-profit education companies were
corrupt. A 2000-employee Pakistani concern makes the soon-to-be-defunct
Corinthian Colleges look like The Gang That Couldn?t Deceive Straight.
In
a Sunday bombshell, The New York Times? reported that the Karachi-based
?I.T. network services company? Axact is behind an education swindle
that has netted the software concern ?tens of millions of dollars? but
left thousands of would-be, and mostly American, students with bogus
credentials from universities that don?t exist. The college names sound
impressive to the unsuspecting: Newford University, Rochville
University, and close to 370 other fake schools ? including the
laughably plagiarized Columbiana University and Barkley University ?
that are used to lure in gullible marks.
The scheme is akin to
Slumdog Millionaire?s telemarketing swindle, but on steroids. Axact
phone reps work several angles to sell their fraudulent diplomas from
fake schools, which are conveniently legitimized by fake accreditation
organizations, such as the International Accreditation Organization
(IAO), with its extensive website suggesting dozens of clients that do
not, in fact, exist.
Read more at FORBES
