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Pakistani Man Pleads Guilty to Running Diploma Mill Scam in New York
Umair Hamid, a Pakistani national, has pleaded guilty to running a massive diploma mill scam that collected tens of millions of dollars from thousands of customers, according to a guilty plea entered yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Hamid, who used the aliases ‘Shah Khan’ and the ‘Shah,’ operated the scam through the Pakistani company ‘Axact,’ which has described itself as one of the world’s leading information technology providers. Axact promoted and claimed to have an affiliation with approximately 350 fictitious high schools and universities, which it advertised online to consumers as genuine schools.
According to allegations, Hamid and his co-conspirators made misrepresentations to individuals across the world, including throughout the United States and in the Southern District of New York, in order to dupe these individuals into enrolling in supposed high schools, colleges, and other educational institutions. Consumers paid upfront fees to Hamid and his co-conspirators, believing that in return they would be enrolled in real educational courses and, eventually, receive legitimate degrees.
However, after paying the upfront fees, consumers did not receive any legitimate instruction and were provided fake and worthless diplomas. Axact sales agents were trained to use sales techniques to persuade the consumer to purchase additional ‘accreditation’ or ‘certifications’ for such certificates or diplomas in order to make them appear more legitimate.
Hamid’s role in the scheme was significant, as he served as Axact’s ‘Assistant Vice President of International Relations.’ Among other things, Hamid made various false and fraudulent representations to consumers in order to sell fake diplomas. He controlled websites of purported ‘schools’ that falsely represented themselves as legitimate institutions.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said, ‘Operating from Pakistan, Umair Hamid helped fraudulently rake in millions of dollars from unwitting American consumers who paid to enroll in, and get degrees from, high schools and colleges that did not exist. As a result of his fraud, people who thought they were investing in an education received nothing more than worthless diplomas and a harsh lesson in the worldwide reach of deceit.’
The scheme was massive, with Axact receiving approximately 5,000 phone calls per day from individuals seeking to purchase Axact products or enroll in educational institutions supposedly affiliated with Axact. At least some of those consumers appeared to believe that they were calling phone numbers associated with the respective schools. When consumers asked where the schools were located, sales representatives were instructed to give fictitious addresses.
The case is a stark reminder of the dangers of online scams and the importance of verifying the legitimacy of educational institutions before making any payments. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is committed to protecting consumers from fraudulent schemes and will continue to work with its partners at the FBI and the Postal Service to bring those responsible to justice.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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