Animals have been submitted as applicants to suspected diploma mills and, on occasion, admitted and granted a degree, as reported in reliable sources. In one case, a cat's degree helped lead to a successful fraud prosecution against the institution which issued it.
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Colby Nolan is a housecat who was awarded an MBA degree in 2004 by Trinity Southern University, a Dallas, Texas-based diploma mill, sparking a fraud lawsuit by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.[1]
Colby Nolan belongs to a deputy attorney general. In looking to expose Trinity Southern University for fraud, some undercover agents had the then six-year-old Colby Nolan obtain a bachelor's degree in business administration for $299. On the cat's application, the agents claimed that the cat had previously taken courses at a community college, worked at a fast-food restaurant, babysat, and maintained a newspaper route. Then the school informed Colby that, due to the job experience listed on his application, he was eligible for an executive MBA for $100 more. The agents then sent for Colby's transcript, which claimed that Nolan had a 3.5 grade point average.
Jerry Pappert, Pennsylvania's attorney general, filed a lawsuit against Trinity Southern University upon learning that the cat had received the degree.[2] In the lawsuit, Pappert also told the diploma mill, which had used e-mail spam to sell degrees, to provide restitution to anyone who had ordered a degree from them.
In December 2004 the Texas Attorney General obtained a temporary restraining order under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act against Trinity Southern and its owners, Craig B. and Alton S. Poe. The court also ordered the school's assets frozen.[3] In March 2005 the Poes were assessed fines of over $100,000 by the court and were ordered not to market or promote fraudulent, substandard degree programs or to represent their university as being accredited or affiliated with legitimate universities.[4][5] It was reported that the Poes also were associated with the names Wesleyan International University and Prixo Southern University.[5] Since 2005, Trinity Southern University's website at trinitysouthernuniversity.org is offline.[6]
In 2009, George, a cat owned by Chris Jackson, the presenter of the BBC show Inside Out, was registered with three professional organizations, the British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming, the United Fellowship of Hypnotherapists, and the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association, securing George's accreditation as a hypnotherapist.[7][8]
Ben Goldacre, a UK-based doctor and science journalist, wrote in 2004 of obtaining a diploma in nutrition from the American Association of Nutritional Consultants for his cat, Henrietta, while investigating allegations about the qualifications claimed by Gillian McKeith.[9][10] Although the cat has since died, Goldacre claims to have kept the certificate on display in a toilet.
In 1973, Florida newspaper The Ledger obtained a high school diploma from "Washington High Academy" for "Kitty O'Malley," a cat also known as Spanky. While the diploma was deemed insufficient to gain Kitty admission to local colleges, the state attorney general's office planned to investigate the institution.[11]
On December 10, 1967, The Times reported that Oliver Greenhalgh had been accepted as a Fellow of the English Association of Estate Agents and Valuers, after a payment of eleven guineas (his two references were not verified). Oliver was a cat belonging to Michael Greenhalgh, a cameraman with Television Wales and the West, pursuing an investigation of bogus professional associations.[12][13]
Oreo C. Collins (born circa 2007) is a tuxedo cat who gained notoriety when she received a diploma from Jefferson High School Online in 2009, although her age was misrepresented in order to qualify.[14] The sting was an investigative operation by the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia headed by Kelvin Collins, Oreo's owner.[15]
In 1986, Rhode Island real estate appraiser Roy Schaeffer obtained a Certified Real Estate Appraiser (CREA) designation for $75 from the Scottsdale, AZ National Association of Real Estate Appraisers (NAREA) for his cat, Tobias F (for "Feline") Schaeffer. He mounted Tobias' certification above his litter box. NAREA sued in federal court for fraud and "for disparaging remarks about the organization to members of Congress, other appraisers and the media." After two years and $70,000 in legal costs, the judge ruled that no fraud or defamation had occurred.[16][17][18]
"Dr." Zoe D. Katze is a housecat owned by Steve K. D. Eichel, Ph.D., ABPP. Dr. Eichel was able to obtain several well-known hypnotherapy certifications for his cat, circa 2001. The ease with which "Dr." Zoe obtained these credentials became the subject of an article by the American Bar Association and a news report by CBS News.[19] The certification of "Dr." Katze has been cited in several books and articles on credentialing scams, and has appeared in psychology and forensic curricula. Dr. Eichel also served as the consultant to the BBC investigation that ultimately led to the certification of George the cat (see above) by various U.K. hypnosis associations.[7][20]
It was alleged during a 2007 Fostoria, Ohio drug trial that police dog (John I.) Rocko received the same criminal justice Bachelor's degree from Concordia College and University as local Police Chief John McGuire.[21] At the time, McGuire was being sued and investigated for allegedly lying on his resume and application for the job of chief.[22] A judge later found "no similarity" between Rocko's diploma and McGuire's, in acquitting McGuire of wrongdoing.[23]
In 2010, Mark Howard QC, a member of the legal team for the defendants in BSkyb Ltd & Anor v HP Enterprise Services UK Ltd & Anor [2010][24] obtained a degree for his dog Lulu from Concordia College and University. Lulu "graduated" with higher marks than the plaintiff's key witness, who lied that he had attended classes for his Concordia MBA.[25][26] In the legal community, the story of the witness's MBA is "infamous,"[27] and a supervisory management cautionary tale.[28]
In 1984 Time Magazine reported that Sassafras, a female poodle belonging to a New York City physician, had received a diploma from the American Association of Nutrition and Dietary Consultants. Her owner had bought the diploma for $50 to demonstrate that "something that looks like a diploma doesn't mean that somebody has responsible training."[29][30]
The May 30, 2007 episode of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation comedy show The Chaser's War on Everything documented host Chas John Licciardello applying online and obtaining a medical degree for his dog Sonny from diploma mill Ashwood University. Sonny's "work experience" included "significant proctology experience sniffing other dogs' bums."[31][32]
In 2004 Albany, NY television station WRGB ran a report in which reporter Peter Brancato applied to Almeda University for, and received, an associate's degree on behalf of his dog, Wally.[33][34] On the application, Brancato listed "Plays with the kids every day ... teaches them to interact better with each other ... Teaches them responsibilities like feeding the dog." Almeda University granted Wally a "life experience" associate degree in "Childhood Development". After the report aired, Almeda University protested that Brancato perjured himself by creating a false identity using a fabricated name and date of birth. In a public statement, an Almeda University representative wrote: "He completed an application that included a background of the following: Eight-years tutoring pre-K children, curriculum design and development, teaching coping skills, and volunteer coaching."[35] In March 2008, Wally was featured in a Lake Geneva, Wisconsin mayoral campaign political cartoon, with a dialogue bubble reading "I graduated with Bill Chesen," referring to Chesen's Almeda University bachelor's degree. Chesen took the cartoon to the police, who passed the defamation complaint to the District Attorney's office, which six months later declined to prosecute, since negative campaigning is legal, and Chesen had publicly "detailed his educational background in his campaign literature."[36]