Eastern Washington Diploma Mill Scandal
July 30, 2008 – 10:21 am by Kim
Scandal is swirling around a Spokane, Washington diploma mill that is responsible for selling over 9,000 fake high school and college diplomas to U.S. immigrants and citizens.
The U.S. Justice Department says that many of the individuals who have purchased the fake diplomas work for the government, educational institutions and the military. They are still scanning the list for federal employees who may have purchased these diplomas, including those that may work for the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also in on the action, as they believe these diplomas may be used to bypass immigration laws and help employees receive promotions and pay raises in government jobs.
Any government official with a fraudulent diploma will be reported to their respective agency and action will be taken from there.
So far, nine people have been discovered with fake diplomas working for federal agencies. These people held jobs with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Health and Human Services Department, the National Security Agency and the CIA.
How did someone get away with purchasing a fake diploma and get hired by the CIA without them knowing about it? Part of their department title is Intelligence, and yet they failed to realize that one of their employees purchased their diploma from a mill in Spokane?
Up until the discovery of their fake diplomas, the mill had sold over 9,000 diplomas to individuals in 131 countries and generated over $1 million in sales. Many of their diplomas were from legitimate universities, such as the University of Maryland, the University of Tennessee, Texas AandM and George Washington University.
The owners of the diploma mill have been tried and will face time in prison. Dixie Ellen Randock, 58, the leader of the mill, will spend 3 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Her daughter, Heidi Kae Lorhan will be spending one year in prison. Steven K. Randock Sr., Dixie’s hubbie, is recovering from open-heart surgery and will face his sentencing August 5.
Along with time in prison, the family was also forced to forfeit $535,000 in cash and their late-model Jaguar.
To see the complete list of people who purchased the fake diplomas, check out the Spokesman-Review newspaper.
3 Responses to “Eastern Washington Diploma Mill Scandal”
*EXPLORERS SCIENCE - MRS. MARTINO > ASSIGNMENTS > CLASS NOTES > MACHINES IN MOTION
Machines in Motion Force Worksheet
Force.doc (26 Kb)
Newton’s First Law of Motion Activities
Activity #1: Inertia – A Body at Rest
In this experiment you will learn about inertia. In it, you will try to remove a bookcover from under an object without moving the object on top. Magicians do this all the time. Remember seeing a magician pull a tablecloth out from under a pile of dishes? Was it magic or science?
Before you begin, write down in your Newton’s Lawbook what you think will happen. Try to explain the scientific reasons for the outcome you predict.
Materials
You will need the following items for this experiment:
• one bookcover or large piece of smooth paper
• one book with a hard, glossy cover
• one book with a rough or non-glossy cover
• objects to place on the bookcover
Procedure
1. Place the bookcover (or piece of paper) on a flat, smooth surface.
2. Put the book with the glossy cover on top of the bookcover.
3. Quickly (and in one smooth motion) yank the bookcover out from under the book.
4. Write down what happens.
5. Do the experiment again, this time putting other objects on top of the bookcover. Observe what happens and write your answers to the following questions in your Newton’s Lawbook: Does mass (weight) have any effect on the experiment? Does the type of object you add have any effect? If so, in what way and why?
6. Try the experiment again using a book with a rough or non-glossy cover. What do you notice? Can you explain how this experiment relates to Newton’s First Law of Motion?
Activity #2: Inertia – A Body in Motion
In this experiment you will try to drop a tennis ball on a target as you run past the target. Think it’s easy? Before you begin, try to guess what will happen. Try to figure out when you will need to release the ball in order to hit the target. Write down your predictions in your Newton’s Lawbook. Give the reasons why you think you are correct.
As you conduct this experiment, think of the challenges Air Force pilots had before the invention of the guided missiles that are used today. Pilots in World War II had to understand mathematics in order to drop bombs on targets while causing as little harm as possible to surrounding buildings and people. These are the same concepts that you will learn with this experiment.
Materials
You will need the following items for this experiment:
• one tennis ball
• clearly-marked target(s), i.e., notebook paper, a chalk mark, or tape
Procedure
1. Place a target about 10-15 meters away from a starting line. Mark the starting line with chalk or tape.
2. Hold the tennis ball and do not let your elbow leave your side as you run and drop the ball. Do not throw the ball. You should hold the ball from its sides so that you can release your grip as you let it drop. Remem-
ber to drop the ball and not throw it, otherwise you will change the intent of the experiment.
3. Have three students stand alongside (but slightly back from) the running path to act as observers. One should stand before the target, one at the target, and one just after the target. Their objective is to determine exactly where the runner released the ball and where the ball strikes the ground.
4. Ask the runner to sprint toward the target as fast as she or he can and try to drop the ball so that it lands on the target.
5. Next, have the observers make a diagram in their Newton’s Lawbook of where the ball was released and where it landed. Repeat the experiment until the ball hits the target.
6. Use the information in Step 5 to predict what would happen if a student ran at a slower speed.
7. Repeat Steps 4-5, using a different runner sprinting at a slower speed.
8. Use the information in the previous trials to predict what would happen at a walking speed.
9. For the last trial, ask a student to walk toward the target. Repeat Steps 4-5.
10. Write a summary of your results in your Newton’s Lawbook. Form conclusions based on the speed of each runner, the location of each ball’s release, and the exact point where each ball landed.
Activity #3: And They’re Off!
This experiment will teach you more about why Newton’s First Law of Motion is also called the Law of Inertia. The method used in this experiment is very similar to one that Galileo conducted.
In this experiment you will discover how Newton’s First Law works by conducting a race with two jars.
Materials
You will need the following items for this experiment:
• two identical jars with lids (either plastic or glass jars)
• flour or sand to fill one of the jars
• iron filings or small lead pellets to fill one of the jars
• two identical, empty three-ring binders (at least 2.5” in width)
• a measuring tape
Procedure
1. Fill one jar with flour or sand. Pack it tightly.
2. Fill the other jar with iron filings or small lead pellets. Again, fill it tightly.
3. Put lids on both of the jars. Lids should be on tight.
4. Place both three-ring binders next to each other on a wooden or tile floor. Place each jar on
its side and release both from the top of the “ramps” at exactly the same time.
5. In the Table below, record how far each jar rolled. Do not measure the binder itself, just the
distance from the end of the binder to where each jar actually stopped.
6. Repeat Steps 3-4 for each of the surfaces listed on the Table.
7. Fill in the Table with your results for each race.
Race Surface How far did the
empty jar travel?
How far did the
filled jar travel?
1 Wooden Floor
2 Carpet
3 Linoleum
4 Tile Floor
5 Other ( ___________ )
Examine your data to look for trends and record your observations in your Newton’s Lawbook. This will prepare you for the questions that follow. For example, determine if one jar always rolled farther than the other. Look to see which jar rolled farthest on a given surface. Try to figure out why you got the results you did for each jar on each surface.
Think About It
Write the answers to the following questions in your Newton’s Lawbook.
1. Did the results depend on whether the jar was filled with flour/sand versus iron/lead? If so, in what way?
2. Did the results depend on the kind of surface you used? If so, in what way?
3. What can you say about a body’s tendency to maintain its status quo – its inertia?
Review
Speed, Acceleration, Velocity, and Graphs review.ppt (128.5 Kb)
Calculations of Motion
Calculations of Motion.jpg (693.384 Kb)
Amusement Park Physics
Amusement Park Physics.jpg (707.196 Kb)
Working With Examples of Motion
Working With Examples of Motion.jpg (765.575 Kb)
The Nature of Forces
Nature of Forces.ppt (367.5 Kb)
Exploring the Laws of Motion
EXPLORING THE LAWS OF MOTION.doc (23.5 Kb)
Interpreting Graphs
Practice Interpreting Data.doc (38.5 Kb)
Machines in Motion vocabulary
Vocabulary MIM - blank.doc (26 Kb)
Machines in Motion Vocabulary
Vocabulary MIM.doc (25.5 Kb)
Describing and Measuring Motion
Describing and Measuring Motion.ppt (336.5 Kb)
Describing and Measuring Motion
Describing and Measuring Motion HW.pdf (62.007 Kb)
Describing and Measuring Motion notes.pdf (59.969 Kb)
Acceleration Animation
Average vs. Instantaneous Speed
Position, Velocity and Acceleration
Acceleration
Acceleration HW.pdf (67.139 Kb)
Acceleration notes.pdf (57.541 Kb)
Speed and Acceleration
Speed and Acceleration Practice.pdf (5.252 Kb)
By Darius Denzel Wesley on Oct 16, 2008