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falsely stated that
Columbia State had been established in 1953. The stationery also listed a ten-member "Board of Advisors" that consisted of made-up names and titles. In her testimony, the former employee estimated that the operation had
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disclosed that he had paid
Columbia State University "several thousand dollars," studied for alleged courses, and wrote papers under the impression that it was an accredited institution. He later earned legitimate degrees from
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75:." However, she testified that the school's promotional materials claimed that it was accredited, displaying a fake accreditation certificate in the university catalog. Also, the school logo and
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also known as Ronald Dante who performed on stage under the name Dr. Dante, and who had for a brief time in the late 1960s and early '70s been married to the well-known actress
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107:, advertising that they could qualify for a degree from Columbia State University in as little as 27 days based on their life, work, and academic experience.
263:, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, hearings on "Bogus Degrees and Unmet Expectations: Are Taxpayer Dollars Subsidizing Diploma Mills?", May 11, 2004
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associated with the
Columbia State operation. For that guilty plea he received a sentence of eight months in prison and was ordered to pay
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Although its name implied that
Columbia State was a state-supported educational institution, it was not associated with a
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274:"THECB > Academic Affairs and Research > Private Colleges and Institutes > Fraudulent Institutions"
71:, no classes, no courses, no tests, no one to grade tests, no educational facilities, no library and no
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This article is about an unaccredited university operating in the 1980s and '90s. For other uses, see
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According to Senate testimony, at one time
Columbia State's letterhead stationery listed
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hearings in 2004, a former employee testified that
Columbia State had "no faculty, no
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FTC "Project
Scofflaw" Defendant Sentenced: Ronald Dante Receives 67-month Prison Term
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126:
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programs in a variety of fields. Its marketing targeted people who had not finished
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from
Columbia State, but Salk's name was removed after he protested to Ron Pellar.
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for the contempt conviction. In 2004, while still serving that sentence, he
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that operated from the mid-1980s until its court-ordered closure in 1998.
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Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in the United States
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training academy, and in 1998 he was sentenced to 67 months in
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321:
Justice
Department pursues diploma mills with fraud charges
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In 2010, Massachusetts attorney and candidate for
Congress
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Unaccredited institutions of higher learning in California
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government. Rather, it was a private operation owned by
386:
Defunct private universities and colleges in California
199:
List of unaccredited institutions of higher learning
346:"Jeff Perry 'proud' despite work on bogus degree"
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381:Educational institutions disestablished in 1998
84:of about $ 20 million between 1996 and 1998.
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366:Education fraud in the United States
21:Columbia University (disambiguation)
16:Defunct university in California, US
13:
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14:
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125:In 1997, Pellar was convicted of
25:Columbia College (disambiguation)
311:press release, February 25, 1998
137:, issued in connection with a "
344:Dave Wedge (August 24, 2010).
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1:
309:U.S. Federal Trade Commission
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7:
192:
10:
402:
261:Statement of Laurie Gerald
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187:New England School of Law
129:for violating an earlier
31:Columbia State University
236:Government Computer News
234:, Wilson P. Dizard III,
118:, as a recipient of an
87:Columbia State offered
73:academic accreditation
330:By David McGlinchey,
135:false representations
120:honorary Ph.D. degree
332:Government Executive
225:Inside diploma mills
326:2007-11-01 at the
303:2007-11-22 at the
230:2007-09-21 at the
114:, inventor of the
141:" business and a
127:criminal contempt
52:, a professional
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348:. Boston Herald.
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334:, March 11, 2004
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276:. Archived from
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169:a $ 1.5 million
165:of $ 45,835 and
139:permanent makeup
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328:Wayback Machine
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305:Wayback Machine
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232:Wayback Machine
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133:against making
105:graduate school
97:doctoral degree
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50:Ronald Pellar
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282:. Retrieved
278:the original
268:
235:
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124:
109:
86:
82:gross income
62:
43:
39:diploma mill
30:
29:
163:restitution
151:pled guilty
65:U.S. Senate
58:Lana Turner
360:Categories
284:2007-11-03
205:References
178:Jeff Perry
159:mail fraud
131:injunction
112:Jonas Salk
89:bachelor's
77:stationery
69:curriculum
35:California
143:paralegal
54:hypnotist
324:Archived
301:Archived
228:Archived
193:See also
153:to nine
93:master's
167:forfeit
101:college
37:-based
155:counts
147:prison
95:, and
33:was a
171:yacht
46:state
185:and
23:and
157:of
103:or
63:In
362::
307:,
243:^
213:^
189:.
173:.
91:,
60:.
287:.
27:.
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