The complete list of buyers, which the U.S. Department of Justice has refused to release to the public, has been obtained by The Spokesman-Review and is posted on the newspaper’s Web site, spokesmanreview.com.

“There are people in high places with these degrees, and only one of them has been charged with a crime,” a source familiar with the list said Monday.

A preliminary analysis of the list by The Spokesman-Review shows 135 individuals with ties to the military, 39 with links to educational institutions, and 17 employed by government agencies. Those numbers were derived from e-mail addresses that are part of the list obtained by the newspaper.

However, the exact number of individuals with ties to the military, government and education is believed to be far greater because many of those buyers used their personal e-mail accounts.

The list includes NASA employee Timothy Francis Gorman, who bought an electrical engineering degree using his e-mail account at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to correspond with the diploma mill, and U.S. Department of Health oncology expert Frank S. Govern, who purchased a doctorate in health care administration.

National Security Agency employees David W. Barden and Barry A. Hester both bought degrees. Hester, who was a computer Web trainer and designer for the NSA with top-secret clearance, paid $1,187 for an information systems and technology degree, the list shows. The status of his top-secret clearance was unclear Tuesday.

Eric Gregory Cole, who was a contract employee for the Central Intelligence Agency, paid $3,801 for a degree in information systems management. His top-secret clearance at the CIA was revoked late last year, according to one source.

Eight people who set up and operated the diploma mill, including ringleader Dixie Ellen Randock, were indicted and convicted of federal crimes. Randock, a 58-year-old high school dropout, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Government prosecutors will recommend that same sentence for her husband, Steve, who is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 5. The Randocks sold thousands of counterfeit degrees and transcripts from legitimate colleges, and phony degrees and transcripts from nonexistent online universities and schools.

Most of the sales were carried out via Internet spam. Court documents say Dixie Randock made at least two purchases of 1 million e-mail addresses each, and sent e-mail telling people they could “earn a college degree the easy way.” At one point, the conspirators offered “special holiday gift certificates,” that provided purchasers a “free dean list certificate.” On another occasion, the pitch included an offer to “buy one degree at full price and get a second degree free.”

Other court documents allege the Randocks may have created more than 300 fictional online colleges. The diplomas sold for a few thousand dollars each, depending on the type of degree. The schools were operated under various business names, including A+ Institute and AEIT, with most financial transactions conducted via the Internet and e-mail, the documents say.

Only one buyer – former deputy U.S. marshal David F. Brodhagen, who was forced into early retirement – has been charged criminally as an outgrowth of the case.

At least one other deputy U.S. marshal, Michael Cameron, is on the list showing he bought a criminal justice degree from the Spokane diploma mill.

Jim McDevitt, the U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington who had refused to release the buyers’ list, expressed only mild displeasure Monday when told the list was in the public domain.

“We did not release the list because it was our legal obligation not to release it, and I stand by that decision,” McDevitt said when reached at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“There’s a leak in every system,” McDevitt said when asked if he was surprised that the list was on the newspaper’s Web site.

Investigators who worked Operation Gold Seal are in the process of forwarding the list to all 50 state attorneys general and various other agencies, including the Washington State Department of Health.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is considering pursuing charges against an estimated 300 federal employees who bought bogus or counterfeit degrees.

Investigators are considering using a federal law that allows them to charge individuals who have fraudulently obtained credentials giving them access to or jobs in U.S. government facilities.

Reached in Seattle on Monday, Homeland Security spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said, “We’re aware of this issue, and we will take the appropriate action, but because it’s an ongoing investigation, I cannot discuss the specifics with you at this time.”

ALSO ON THE LIST

 • William R. Church, a senior military adviser working in the White House, and George Michael Navadel, a U.S. State Department computer systems negotiator, who paid $5,400 for a doctorate in network engineering.

 • Duwayne Huss, an employee of Nuclear Management Co., operator of two nuclear plants in Minnesota, bought degrees in nuclear engineering and accounting. “I can’t give you information about our employees,” company spokeswoman Mary Sadock said Monday when asked if Huss was still employed.

 • Author Bonita E. Broyles, who has written a series of books about prescription dosages and nursing care, bought a doctorate in education for $2,225, the list shows.

 • Richard J. Caverly of Colbert, just north of Spokane, paid $236 for a degree in construction management before getting a job in May 2006 as a building inspector with the City of Spokane. He worked as a temporary building inspector before getting a job in December 2006 as a project employee, tracking down construction under way without a permit, said city spokeswoman Marlene Feist. Caverly was “released” from that job in December, according to Feist, who couldn’t provide specifics.

 • Remah Moustafa Ahmed Kamel, a 43-year-old Saudi Arabian, bought degrees in obstetrics and gynecology, but investigators don’t know whether he’s practicing in those medical fields in his home country.

NUMBERS FROM THE LIST

 • Anthony McGugan of Barnegat, N.J., spent $24,088 on 16 different degrees and certificates between 1983 and 2002, including a doctor of theology, a master of theology in systematic theology, a master of social work in addiction counseling, bachelor’s degrees in human services and biblical studies, and certificates in addiction therapy, family and youth counseling, ministry education, Christian education, interpersonal relationships, addiction counseling, professional counseling, substance abuse counseling and social development. That was twice as many degrees and certificates as anyone else on the list.

 • Four people bought seven degrees or certificates; 10 bought six degrees or certificates; 22 bought five degrees or certificates; and 76 bought four.

 • Of the 9,612 purchasers, 826 bought at least one Ph.D. and 41 bought two doctorates.

Did two men with fake degrees either provide geotechnical advice or subcontracting to the Washington State Department of Transportation?

WSDOT spokesman Lloyd Brown said Tuesday that he’d look into that possibility after The News Tribune pointed out that two names on the diploma mill list – Clyde Ringstad and Matthew Ringstad – matched those of men who presented information on vibration and vibration monitoring to a DOT structures team in 2004.

Minutes of the Feb. 12, 2004, meeting document a presentation by Dr. Clyde Ringstad, Lynn Ringstad and Mathew Ringstad of Apollo Geophysics Corp. The minutes describe “Dr. (Clyde) Ringstad” as “a pioneer in vibration monitoring.”

A Clyde A. Ringstad of Lake Forest Park is cited on the diploma mill list as having received a fake doctorate from an unnamed university. A Matthew C. Ringstad of Bellingham received a bogus bachelor’s degree, according to the list.

Matthew Ringstad, vice president of Apollo Geophysics of Bellingham, said Tuesday that he wasn’t aware of the diploma mill list and pointed out there are many people with the same name. He said he couldn’t answer any questions about Clyde Ringstad.

The Apollo Geophysics vice president said he earned a political science degree in California, but that he would “rather not say” what college it came from.

The News Tribune