EmployeeScreenIQ Blog

Thank you Congressman Michael Vaughn.  It is folks like you who make background screeners like me excited about my next blog post.  You claimed on your website to have played for the Dallas Cowboys in 1980.  Not according to the Dallas Cowboys.  When questioned about this, you showed your NFL Players Alumni Association card.  And for $150, I too can be the proud owner of one of those bad boys.  Doh!

It gets better (or worse).  You next blamed your web developer for the misinformation and quickly pulled it off your website.  Well my friend, you might not have played for the Cowboys but you sure did fumble this one away.

This remind me of a situation I ran into several years ago.  I met a C-Level executive at a Fortune 100 organization several years ago whom I became friendly with.  When he was getting ready to invest in a new business, he asked me to perform a background check on the principals of the company he was interested in.  They, in turn asked him to submit to a background check as well.  They both engaged us to conduct the checks.  A day later, I got a phone call from this executive and he asked if our background check would reveal that he never played college basketball for a major university.  I didn’t have to ask why, but learned a valuable lesson.  People tell stupid lies for stupid reason and while those lies are inconsequential, they usually come back to bite you.

I’m sure Congressman Vaughn had nothing to gain other than propping up his ego for lying about his football exploits.  Was it worth it?

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Steven D. Levitt, coauthor of one of my favorite books, Freakonomics suggests that more than 50 percent of people lie on their resumes.  We obviously agree since our statistics show year after year that over 55% of applicants lie about their job and educational history.  Levitt refers to a famous W. C. Fields quote “Anything worth winning is worth cheating for.” Resume lies continue at an even higher rate in this economy, candidates have more reason to lie now, they need to work!  Falsifying your resume will get you nowhere.  Its rare to find a company these days that don’t conduct background checks on their applicants.  If you lie, you will get caught.  Employers will check your references, past employment and education, in addition to a thorough criminal background check.  What do we advise? Tell the truth!

Monster.com just published a great article, “Lying on Your Resume: What Are the Consequences?” In it they surmise:

Companies are growing increasingly savvy in ferreting out resume cheaters through more comprehensive background checks conducted both pre  and posthire. Why the latter? Subpar job performance can prompt a follow-up investigation into an employee’s past. If dishonesty is discovered, it is often grounds for termination and possibly legal action.

Click here for the rest of the article!

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I typically don’t comment on content I read in online forums, but I saw this post on WallStreetOasis.com about a recent college grad who has accepted a position with Goldman Sachs, but must first submit to an employment background check before it’s official.  Unfortunately, he/she now realized that they inadvertently lied on their resume and is trying to decide whether to come clean prior to the background check. See below.

I’m so worried about it and haven’t been able to sleep well…

Here’s my advice.  Whether Goldman Sachs actually checks this information or not (and I’m quite certain they do) is immaterial.  This oversight on your resume is simply that until you realize it is false.  My recommendation would be to come clean and let them know the truth.  This is nothing more than a technicality and can be explained by addressing it ahead of time.  If they conduct the background check and find out otherwise, your oversight becomes a lie.  And even if that particular distinction would have no bearing on your employment prospects, the lie speaks volumes.

Just my two cents.

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Usually when we talk about fake degrees, we are referring to diploma or degree mills.  There have been many stories in the news as of late about people using academic credentials purchased by these “schools” to either land a job or obtain a higher position or pay.  In addition to the issuing the diploma or degree, many of these institutions offer to verify their “authenticity” in order to make their product seem like the real deal. 

In this story, however, the degree this individual claimed was not from a diploma mill – it was from the University of Miami.  Apparently this guy thought it would be a good idea forge a degree document from the school, photocopy it and submit it to a potential employer in order to land a $127,932/year paying position.  All it took was one phone call to the University of Miami to find out he had never attended the college.  He now faces one charge of criminal possession of a forged instrument and three charges of offering a false instrument for filing.  If convicted, he could end up serving an 11-year prison sentence.

BUSTED: Sanitation construction project manager arrested for submitting a fake degree

Myles Miller, NY City Hall Examiner – May 26, 2010

MAYBE HE SHOULD HAVE GONE TO COLLEGE.

The Department of Investigation arrested city Sanitation Department construction project manager Bernard Feraca, 57 of Bronxville, NY for using a “fake academic degree to land a high paying City job”, according to DOI Commissioner Rose Gil Hearn.

Feraca, who submitted a fake Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Miami, was charged today with criminal possession of a forged instrument and three counts of offering a false instrument for filing. If convicted, Feraca could face 11 years in prison. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., has assigned ADA Peter Rienzi to prosecute this case.

Fereca, joined the Department of Sanitation in February 2010, and was assigned to the Engineering Support Services unit.

His city salary was $127,932; he has been suspended without pay.

Under a city policy the DOI conducts a thorough background check of roughly 2,000 employees annually who are promoted to management positions, earn more than $80,000 annually and deal with city contracts or  super sensitive city computer programs.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Manhattan Criminal Court a DOI “investigation found that on January 22nd, 2010, the defendant submitted to DSNY a photocopy of his purported Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering.”

The investigation proved there was no record of Feraca ever being a student at the University of Miami.
On Feraca’s Facebook page he has two friends who went to the University of Miami, and lists among his likes “Big Prize Giveaways.”

This is the latest in a series of bogus diplomas and degrees from city employees. In 2007, a DOI report showed the submission of “bogus degrees” in the Fire Department. That investigation resulted in “14 disciplinary actions and improved verification procedures at the FDNY” according to the Department of Investigation.

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Earlier in the week we wrote about Adam Wheeler who lied his way into Harvard. (And many other things)  This one just blows my mind.  Get ready for this.  Jesse Bernard Johnston III joined the Army Reserves as a sergeant but was not qualified to hold that rank.  According the the AP, Johnston’s only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004.  This is pretty VERY scary.  Because of lax background check procedures many lives could have been at stake.  He was given security clearance and was in a position to lead troops into combat…..with no training.  Does this mean our military could possibly be infiltrated by terrorists and others wishing to do our country harm?  I think this story raises significant issues and kudos to the AP for uncovering it.  Background screening at all levels of government has come under fire over the last few years.  Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

AP INVESTIGATION: Texas man faked way into Army

FORT WORTH, Texas – A Texas man with no military experience tricked the Army into letting him enter a reserve unit as a noncommissioned officer earlier this year, a deception that placed an untrained soldier in a leadership position in a time of war, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The revelation comes just months after the Army drew criticism for failing to flag the suspicious activities of the Army psychiatrist now charged with killing 13 and wounding dozens of others at Fort Hood.

The case, detailed in court records and other documents examined by the AP, raises more questions about the Army’s ability to vet soldiers’ backgrounds as it faces continued pressure from Congress over its screening and records system. While the soldier never deployed overseas, some say the case demonstrates how easily someone could pose as a member of the U.S. military.

Jesse Bernard Johnston III, 26, joined the Army Reserve in February as a sergeant and was assigned to the Corps Support Airplane Company based at the Fort Worth Naval Air Station. But he wasn’t qualified to hold that rank, according to military records obtained by the AP. The records show that Johnston’s only military experience was attending part of a 12-week Marine officer candidate course for college students in 2004.

Maj. Shawn Haney, spokeswoman for Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs, said Johnston didn’t complete the course’s final six weeks. “He was never considered a Marine,” she said.

The matter, currently under investigation by the Army, means a soldier received a security clearance and was in position to lead troops in combat even though he hadn’t gone through basic training or spent any time in the service. The Corps Support Airplane Company has been deployed in Iraq, providing pilots as well as intelligence and support personnel for an aviation battalion set up to destroy improvised explosive devices.

If it’s proven that Johnston gained his Army rank based on a phony Marine record, it would be the first documented case of so-called “stolen valor” in which the military was duped during the enlistment process, according to watchdogs of such fraud. Most cases involve attempts to get veterans’ benefits or other forms of financial gain. Congress attempted to crack down on military impostors in 2005 by passing a law that makes it a crime to claim false decorations or medals.

“This just raises some incredibly significant issues at a time when this country is involved in a global war on terror,” said Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican who served with the Marines in Iraq and the first Gulf War. “If this person was able to penetrate the military fraudulently, you have to ask the question: Couldn’t somebody who was out to do harm to our country do the same thing?”

Coffman is pushing for the creation of a single database for all military records as a step toward eliminating fraud.

Army officials, citing an ongoing investigation, declined to provide details of Johnston’s enlistment or say whether he’s suspected of providing false documents or using some other means to make himself out to be an ex-Marine.

Questions about Johnston were raised by an officer who grew concerned when Johnston couldn’t satisfactorily explain how he got certain Marine medals and ribbons that he displayed. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said he contacted Marine and Army legal authorities and learned from the Marines that Johnston never served.

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We talk a lot about criminal background checks and checking diploma mill lists prior to employment. Check out this guy.  He lied to get into the college to get a degree he didn’t deserve!  He lied about test scores and accomplishments to get grants and scholarships.  He plagiarized papers to win awards.  This guy might be the single biggest liar I have ever read about.  He’s like the Frank Abagnale of the 21st century.  Now, Wheeler is now facing 20 counts, including larceny, falsifying an
endorsement, identity fraud, and pretending to hold a degree. The article states thee four larceny charges are felony counts that each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Alleged Harvard Fake Applied at The New Republic
Adam Wheeler Claimed 4.0 Grade Point Average on Internship Application to Publication that Once Featured Faker Stephen Glass

Former Harvard student Adam Wheeler, 23, pleaded not guilty to charges that he lied to get into the Ivy League institution. Prosecutors claimed Tuesday in a Massachusetts court that those say those lies ultimately allowed him to steal $45,000 in grants, scholarship money, and financial aid.

John Verner, prosecutor, said in court Tuesday, “Since Mr. Wheeler began at Harvard, he has lived a life of lies and deceit.”

Even after being caught and kicked out of Harvard, Wheeler actually tried to transfer to Brown University and Yale. His parents, who attended the hearing, forced their son to come clean, and notify Yale that he had been booted from Harvard.

Verner said, “If it wasn’t for his parents’ intervention, Mr. Wheeler’s pathological behavior wouldn’t have stopped.”

Wheeler’s behavior allegedly started on his Harvard application. Wheeler claimed he got a perfect 1,600 on his SAT, had attended the exclusive Phillips Academy prep school, and spent a year at MIT. CBS News correspondent Elaine Quijano reported prosecutors say all claims are false.

Quijano added Wheeler recently Wheeler applied for an internship at the New Republic magazine, claiming a 4.0 grade point average while at Harvard.

The New Republic is where rising star writer Stephen Glass was exposed for making things up in his articles.

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See his fake resume below:

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I smell a rat!  This is timely as I just finished giving a webinar for Talx (The Work Number) on Social Networking and lying on your resume.  We covered criminal background checks and diploma and employment mills.  What we didn’t cover due to time constraints was falsifying your military history.  This is big news today, its election day in many states.  Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal says he misplaced some words.  I say he took advantage of carefully selecting words and not making the proper corrections.  One single word “in” compared to “during” completely changes the context of the statement.  This was said [incorrectly] many times and he never corrected it? Come on, I’m in the truth business, he’s running for Senate, he should be too!  You be the judge!

Blumenthal calls Vietnam comments misplaced words

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Democratic Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal on Tuesday conceded he had “misspoken” in claiming repeatedly that he served in Vietnam, dismissing the furor as a matter of “a few misplaced words.”

At a news conference backed by veterans, the popular Connecticut attorney general and front-runner to replace the retiring Sen. Christopher Dodd said he meant to say he served “during Vietnam” instead of “in Vietnam.” He said the statements were “totally unintentional” errors that occurred only a few times out of hundreds of public appearances.

The brewing campaign crisis erupted after The New York Times reported Monday that Blumenthal had distorted his military service. The story included quotes and a video of Blumenthal saying at a 2008 event that he had “served in Vietnam.” It also cited several instances of media reports — apparently uncorrected by Blumenthal — that described him as a Vietnam veteran.

Blumenthal underwent six months in Marines boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., and served six years in the Marine Reserve, beginning in 1970, none of it overseas. Before that, Blumenthal got five deferments to avoid going to war between 1965 and 1970.

The furor has raised Republican hopes of taking Dodd’s seat and chipping away at Democrats’ Senate majority.

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From GetEducated.com, a great resource on diploma mills and education issues.

Top Ten States For Degree Mills and Fake Online Colleges

The United States leads the world in diploma mills, degree mills, and fake online colleges, according to Verifile Limited, a United Kingdom firm.

The top 10 states with the highest number of bogus universities—unaccredited institutions of higher education—and unrecognized accrediting agencies are:

1. California (134)
2. Hawaii (94)
3. Washington (87)
4. Florida (57)
5. Texas (53)
6. New York (44)
7. Louisiana (39)
8. Illinois (29)
8. (tie) Nevada (29)
10. Arizona (28)

Overall, online degree mills, diploma mills, fake online colleges, and other bogus institutions claiming to operate in the United States totaled 810, per Verifile in a 2010 report.

Outside of the United States, the United Kingdom had the second highest number of degree or diploma mills. At least 271 institutions offer bogus academic degrees in the U.K., Verifile reports—significantly more than the UK’s 158 legitimate universities and colleges.

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Individuals who purchase fake degrees are now paying a heavy toll for their deceptions while others are encouraged to use fake degrees to fill overseas teaching positions. Recently, two medical physicists were sent to prison for passing off fake degrees as authentic credentials. Conversely, job recruiters as far as China are producing fake college degrees to lure foreign teachers to teach English as a Second Language abroad.

Because a college degree can lead to an exciting new job, a promotion, and a pay raise, many employees are taking steps to earn college degrees either online or in traditional college classrooms. However, diploma mills make it very easy for individuals to purchase official-looking documents and transcripts, thereby edging out otherwise qualified applicants for jobs and promotions.

Diploma Mills Strike it Rich

With the advent of the Internet, the diploma mill industry has grown into a billion-dollar business. According to a congressional committee report, half a million Americans purchased fake degrees in 1986 alone, and the practice continues today. In the book Degree Mills: The Billion Dollar Industry That Has Sold Over a Million Fake Diplomas by Allen Ezell and John Bear, the authors divide the business of selling degrees into three eras: 700 (or Earlier) through 1979, 1980 through 1991, and the period since then. In essence, diploma mills have been around as long as there has been higher education and the need to document it.

It’s not always easy to separate the real schools from the authentic ones, especially when the lines are blurred. Ezell and Bear write that a medical school in the Caribbean was selling fake medical degrees for $28,000 while simultaneously providing a legitimate medical school education to enrolled students.

In another case, a fraudulent doctor in California bribed an employee at a major university to fudge school records to give the appearance that the physician had, in fact, earned a degree from that college. While officials believe that this was a one-time occurrence, it’s not unlikely that similar actions have occurred at other universities, given the widespread practice of degree fraud.

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Two fantastic articles this morning that really have competing topics.  One is on the validity or acceptability of legitimate online degrees. The other is an expose on diploma mills.  I felt it was important to include both topics in this post because sometimes people don’t know the difference.  As both concepts become more ubiquitous, performing a thorough background check and thoroughly screening the applicant’s claimed degree becomes that much more important. In today’s economy, professionals (and crooks) are looking for a way to stand out from the crowd.  An upstanding citizen may decide to go back to school and get an advanced degree.  In some scenarios, going to a traditional ‘brick and mortor’ school is not possible due to schedules, family, work, etc.. In those cases they may decide to go to an accreditated online university.  There are many of them and they are reputable.  However, some employers don’t feel they carry the same weight as a traditional degree.  This is a debatable topic but ultimately that decision is up to the employer.  According to a recent CNN article:

To many people, a degree is a degree — but to others, there can be an issue of trust, or lack of reputation and familiarity, says Marc Scheer, a career counselor and educational consultant based in New York City.

“Traditional programs have been around for hundreds of years, but online programs are relatively new [and] employers tend to be less familiar with them,” he says.

Employers are getting there, however. In a survey done by online institution Excelsior College and Zogby International, 61 percent of CEOs and small business owners nationwide said they were familiar with online or distance learning programs.

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Other more ‘creative’ individuals (crooks) chose an even easier route. Buy your degree online!  I did it.  In fact I now hold a Masters and PhD from Gordon University, which were bought online for $295.00.  I hang them both proudly on my office wall, simply to make a point. They are fake, yet fully verifiable.  Gordon University is a diploma mill.  Want to see something even scarier?  Put ‘Gordon University’ into the search criteria of LinkedIn and see how many executives tout this fake degree.  Its pretty scary actually! (Shameless plug: I will be traveling the USA this year speaking about Web 2.0 and Recruiting.  One of the main topics is Diploma Mills.  Click here for dates and places).  A thorough review of every degree by a professional employment screening company is critical.

In the story below you will see that consumers are buying misleading degrees online.  Having a few good friends that graduated from Cornell, I am sure they would be happy to know others are paying for a similar degree from Cormell (Notice the  ‘m’).  Now that would have saved their parents a lot of money!  According to this article:

It may be harder than ever to attend Cornell, but — through a billion dollar industry some experts have labelled a growing “national security threat” — it is may be easier than ever to pretend you did.

Phony diploma companies, known as “degree mills,” sell a dizzying variety of bogus products — fake degrees from real colleges, real degrees from fake colleges, and fake degrees from real-sounding but fake colleges, prominent among them “Stamford,” “Berkley,” and even, “Cormell” University.

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What is the moral of these two stories? Employers…..be careful.  No two degrees are the same, be sure your screening provider is checking your searches against known diploma mills and accreditation lists.  For more on this, see our recent white paper on diploma mills.

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