In northern Idaho, mention working at the mill and many people will recall names like Charles Weyerhaeuser, William Deary, Allison Laird, and PFI (Potlatch Forests, Inc.).   If you’ve been through Lewiston, you know that “smell of money” coming from the Potlatch pulp mill.  Now, it appears our area has a mill producing paper of another kind.

In August 2005 federal agents served search warrants on several residential and commercial locations in eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and Arizona.  The warrants authorized searches for materials relating to the production of counterfeit documents including college diplomas.   The resulting indictments and trial concluded with the sentencing of several defendants.  They were running a diploma mill.

The case has attracted some attention locally simply because it was local.  It is by no means unique to our area.  Diploma mills have been operating on the Internet for years.

Diploma mills became easier to start and operate with the availability of high-resolution graphics software for personal computers and affordable high-resolution printers.   Most of the bogus diplomas are marketed for “novelty purpose” with providers sometimes warning purchasers they are not to be used to misrepresent an educational credential.  In some instances the producer also supplies fake college transcripts to complete the “novelty” effect.

In part because of Operation Gold Shield (the federal task force name for the local investigation), Congress has included measures to limit the damage diploma mills can cause.  In the College Opportunity and  Affordablity Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137, Part H), Congress noted:

The purpose of this part is to protect institutions of higher education, businesses and other employers, professional licensing boards, patients and clients of degree holders, taxpayers, and other individuals from any person claiming to possess a legitimate academic degree that in fact was issued by a fraudulent or nonexistent school, by a non-educational entity posing as a school, or by any entity in violation of Federal or State law.

Federal law notwithstanding, it is still essential that employers check and verify the educational credentials or representations made by applicants for jobs.  Voters or voter education groups need to similarly check credential and representations made by candidates to ensure candidates have not inflated their educational credentials.

(Note:  As a result of Operation Gold Shield, I have submitted an Idaho Public Record Law request to the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training or POST Academy.  That agency is responsible for certifying and decertifying Idaho peace officers.   My inquiry sought to identify any certified Idaho peace officers who received bogus degrees.  I have received no reply but will post it as an addendum when Idaho POST responds.)