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Buyers of bogus degrees named: The Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review outs the customers of who bought degrees from one of these nonexistent online universities and high schools such as Saint Regis University, or fake degrees from real schools.

Here's the searchable list, which has been forwarded to the attorneys general of all 50 states. (It includes 13 in Rhode Island.)

Hundreds of people working in the military, government and education are on a list of almost 10,000 people who spent $7.3 million buying phony and counterfeit high school and college degrees from a Spokane diploma mill.

The complete list of buyers, which the U.S. Department of Justice has refused to release to the public, has been obtained by The Spokesman-Review.

"There are people in high places with these degrees, and only one of them has been charged with a crime," a source familiar with the list said Monday.

A preliminary analysis of the list by The Spokesman-Review shows 135 individuals with ties to the military, 39 with links to educational institutions and 17 employed by government agencies. Those numbers were derived from e-mail addresses that are part of the list obtained by the newspaper.

However, the exact number of individuals with ties to the military, government and education is believed to be far greater because many of those buyers used their personal e-mail accounts.

The perps: "Eight people who set up and operated the diploma mill, including ringleader Dixie Ellen Randock, were indicted and convicted of federal crimes. Randock, a 58-year-old high school dropout, was sentenced to three years in prison."

Reporters Bill Morlin and Jim Camden offer vignettes about some of those who sought to better their circumstances, if not themselves, by writing a check to a fraud scheme that promised a degree based on "life experience."

Richard J. Caverly, of Colbert, paid $236 for a degree in construction management before getting a job in May 2006 as a building inspector with the city of Spokane. He worked as a temporary building inspector before getting a job in December 2006 as a project employee, tracking down construction under way without a permit, said city spokeswoman Marlene Feist.

...Michael J. Hoilien, who worked for the Air Force in Fayetteville, N.C., bought a medical degree. His current employment status couldn't be immediately confirmed.

And because everybody knows life experience counts,

Alan P. Hernandez, a police officer in San Antonio, paid $2,630 for a bachelor's and a Ph.D. in criminal justice, then went to work as an adviser and counselor for one of the Randocks' bogus online universities.

It's a fascinating litany of lives enriched -- and in some cases restarted -- by a tempting, easy lie.

A press release issued by the U. S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana details the case against David Brodhagen of Reardan, Washington, who pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of false statement by a public official. He is the only buyer criminally charged so far.

On November 11, 2002, BRODHAGEN, a Deputy U.S. Marshal, submitted an Internet application to Saint Regis University. In this application, BRODHAGEN stated he wanted a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Science/Liberal Arts. BRODHAGEN paid $731 by credit card to obtain this degree. As part of his submission package, BRODHAGEN stated, "At this time in my career, I feel it is important to obtain a BA Degree. Without it, I will not be able to go further up in my career ladder. With only seven more years remaining before retirement, it is too late to go to the conventional route of a four year college. This is my primary reason for applying for a degree based upon my experience, training, and college education." St. Regis asked him which classes he wanted on his transcript and what grades he wanted reflected as having received.

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