[2] The Oregon State Office of Degree Authorization identified Saint Regis University as a diploma mill linked to 18 other front "schools".
In November 2005, Times Higher Education noted that prosecutors discovered the university formed part of an elaborate online scam masterminded by a former real estate agent called "Dixie".
[7] Dixie E. and Stephen K. Randock Sr. were indicted in October 2005 on charges of conspiring to commit fraud and laundering nearly $2 million in diploma mill receipts from 2002 to 2005.
[4] The indictment also brought charges against Richard Novak, Heidi Kae Lorhan, Blake Carlson, Roberta Markishtum, Kenneth Pearson, and Amy Hensley.
[12] Saint Regis University made national news when 11 teachers in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States were found using degrees from this institution to increase their salaries.
The officials now suspect that CCI was not giving independent evaluations, according to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission executive secretary, F.D.
According to prosecutors, four computers seized from Pearson's home in association with the diploma mill investigation were found to contain more than 10,000 sexually explicit images of children.
Novak pleaded guilty to one Class D felony count of "Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud and to Violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" and a second Class D felony count of "Violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" on March 20, 2006.
[19] In October 2006, the Associated Press reported that employees of the federal government in the United States had received diplomas from St. Regis and its affiliates.
[22] On July 31, 2008 The Washington Post announced that it had obtained a list of 9,600 names of people who had inquired into or purchased degrees from the diploma mill.
[7] In 2009, a social worker and two counselors in the state of Washington were accused of misrepresenting their professional credentials by using "fake degrees" from Saint Regis.
"[27] The report explained how the United States Secret Service "bought their own degree for a perfect terrorist candidate, although theirs was fictional."
"The Secret Service even added to Syed's application that he needed a degree quickly, so he could find employment and obtain an H-1B visa, allowing him to stay in the US."
Furthermore, "In less than a month, the imaginary Syrian army expert was notified James Monroe University was awarding him three advanced degrees in engineering and chemistry, all for $1,277".
They sought the assistance of Vice Presidents of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, as well as Alan Contreras of Oregon's Office of Degree Authorization and George Gollin, a CHEA Board of Directors member and University of Illinois professor.