Axact universities

Discussion in 'Accreditation Discussions (RA, DETC, state approva' started by Kizmet, Aug 29, 2015.

Loading...
  1. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Something odd here - above article (Fox News) is the ONLY source I could find of Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh's alleged suicide. Fake news? I'm looking for confirmation - will advise.

    J.
     
  2. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    24 hours gave gone by -- and still ZERO other news items re the alleged suicide. I think this is a fake. I know that Shaikh has a valid St. Kitts and Nevis passport, so maybe he's planted a message at home and is on a Caribbean island, soaking up the sunshine for the foreseeable, who knows? Until I hear differently, I think he's still with us.

    J.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  4. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    The suicide article is definitely fake - unless Shaikh gave the 20th annual Team Meet address from the Great Beyond! Something eerie about this "tomorrow, the world" stuff. https://www.bolnetwork.com/shoaib-shaikh-speech-teammeet/

    "First, we take Manhattan. Then we take Berlin." - Leonard Cohen.

    J.
     
  5. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    Hamid gets 21 months in prison. Restitution may be available for "victims"

    The U.S. Attorney’s press release text is as follows:

    August 28, 2017
    Pakistani Man Sentenced To 21 Months In Prison In Axact Diploma Mill Scam, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Press Release, August 28, 2017.
    Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that UMAIR HAMID was sentenced today to 21 months in prison for his role in an international diploma mill scheme operated through the Pakistani company Axact. HAMID pled guilty on April 6, 2017, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. HAMID entered the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who imposed today's sentence.
    Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: "Umair Hamid and Axact operated a massive diploma mill that preyed on consumers who thought their tuition would pay for a college education. Instead, Hamid provided victims with worthless fake diplomas. Defendants like Hamid who profit from fake schools face very real penalties, including prison time."

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:

    HAMID helped run a massive diploma mill through his employer, Axact, which has held itself out as one of the world's leading information technology providers. HAMID and his co-conspirators deceived individuals across the world, including throughout the United States, into enrolling in supposed high schools, colleges, and universities. Consumers paid upfront fees, believing that in return they would be enrolled in real educational courses and, eventually, receive legitimate degrees. Instead, consumers received no instruction and worthless diplomas.

    HAMID, who served most recently as Axact's Assistant Vice President of International Relations, helped Axact conduct the fraud in the United States, among other locations. On Axact's behalf, he served as the primary contact during negotiations with a former competitor for Axact's acquisition of websites for fake educational institutions. Under Axact's control, those websites then continued to deceive consumers into paying upfront enrollment fees for non-existent educational programs.

    In May 2015, Pakistani authorities shut down Axact and arrested multiple individuals associated with the company for participating in the diploma mill operation. But HAMID, who was not arrested at that time, continued to work in furtherance of the fraudulent business, even personally traveling to the United States in 2016 to open a bank account used to collect money from defrauded consumers.

    * * *
    In addition to the prison term, HAMID, 31, of Karachi, Pakistan, was ordered to forfeit $5,303,020.

    Mr. Kim praised and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their outstanding investigative work.

    If you believe you were a victim of this crime, including a victim entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in the case or additional information, please contact the Victim/Witness Unit at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, at (866) 874-8900. For additional information, go to http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html.

    The case is being prosecuted by the Office's Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward A. Imperatore, Noah D. Solowiejczyk, Katherine Reilly, Patrick Egan, and David Abramowicz are in charge of the prosecution.
     
  6. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    "There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
    He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
    He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
    And they all lived together in a little crooked house." (Mother Goose)


    There was a crooked man, who ran 300 "schools."
    It was fun being crooked - the courts were full of fools;
    He bribed a crooked trial judge and when that didn't work,
    He found a crooked prosecutor - what a ****ing jerk!

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 5, 2017
  9. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Good question. I'm sure that's a lowball figure. I noticed "Marketplace" said they could only identify about 100 Axact schools, and we know there are WAY over 300 - a pretty complete list was issued in 2015, when the Axact scandal broke and DI has been kept apprised of new ones since the evil "Axact Renaissance," after various court officials (prosecutor, judge) were bribed in Pakistan.

    I'm not impressed with that article at all. I think Marketplace should be capable of better research. For instance, they mentioned Almeda, but I didn't see anything about the Almeda/Axact/Umair Hamid connection. They should contact real experts - we're privileged in that a couple of them post valuable info here. Marketplace managed to buy three PhDs? Hell, we coulda bought three hundred, if we had the budget! :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2017
  11. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member

    This looks familiar but...


    Erwin Sniedzins doesn't trust traditional universities.

    So when the Toronto business management consultant found one offering a master's degree requiring no studying, exams, or academic work — for just $8,100 — Sniedzins thought it was a school sharing his unconventional approach to education.

    "I don't necessarily like to pay $30,000 to get a master's when I feel I already have the knowledge," Sniedzins said in an interview with CBC Toronto.

    Toronto man 'angry' after learning his $8,100 master's degree that required no exams or academic work is fake - Toronto - CBC News


    To mister Sniedzins I say, gesundheit.
     
  12. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    It should. Mr. Sniedzins is featured today in the KA-BOOM thread.

    Ja, aber er stammt nicht aus Deutschland. Er ist Lettisch. - Yes, but he doesn't come from Germany. He's Latvian. A page on Mr. Sniedzins here:

    Latvian, Erwin Sniedzins, mayoral candidate 2014 | Eesti Elu / Estonian Life Apparently, in addition to running for mayor, Mr. Sniedzins made and sold educational software, some to the Toronto School Board. I believe his name has to do with snow, as in "Balts sniedzins snieg uz skujinam," a Latvian carol, "Gentle Snow is Falling on the Ground."

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 15, 2017
  13. decimon

    decimon Well-Known Member


    But I was first. So there.
     
  14. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Man žēl. Jūs tagad varat mani nogalināt. (Latvian: I am sorry. You may kill me, now.) :smile:

    J.
     
  15. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    I'll just take part of that back, if you please. I've now seen a bit of the TV coverage and they did contact some real experts; I saw the tail end of an interview with Special Agent Allen Ezell (Ret'd).

    I should remember: the Marketplace people are journalists, and not law enforcement. It's only to be expected that their investigations have limitations. A better job than I was expecting, after reading the article. I'm sure if they'd had the authority to kick in doors, they'd have used it to good effect!

    J.
     
  16. eazye

    eazye New Member

  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  18. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    One down... (Axact V.P. Umair Hamid). 21 months and $5 million to pay. https://www.dawn.com/news/1354691
    Don't imagine his former boss is umm ...Shaikhin' in his boots... :sad: Where is he, anyway?

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Oct 11, 2017
  19. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Where is Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh of Axact and BOL? Looks like he's where he always was: At home in Pakistan, enjoying the fruits of his labours - still running BOL TV network and Axact. Axact Universities still proliferate. Here's his Twitter account. Business as usual..

    https://twitter.com/ssforpakistan?lang=en
     
  20. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

Share This Page