Steven and Dixie Randock of Spokane, Washington, were indicted by a federal grand jury of mail fraud and money laundering charges in January 2008 in connection with their operation of a fictitious university, “St. Regis University.” They were also found to have manufactured counterfeit degrees from at least four universities: UT, George Washington University, the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M. The diplomas were sold with an associated transcript.
The counterfeit UT degree—a bachelor of business administration—bears the names of two fictitious officials—“James Cooper,” signing as “President and Chief Provost” and “Patrick O’Brien,” signing as “Chairperson, Board of Trustees.” According to the newspaper the Spokane Review, the fraudulent “university” operation and counterfeit diploma scam netted the Randocks in excess of $5 million.