Columbia State University was located in Louisiana yet had no campus, class work or faculty. This diploma mill sold fake degrees for anyone who wished to buy one so as to increase their academic credentials to gain important career positions. According to the Pennsylvania Post Gazette, federal authorities had this university shut down by court order in 2004 with the owner pleading guilty to fraud charges.
Some diploma mill universities will take a name from a real college or university to sound more legitimate. Delaware-based diploma mill University of Berkeley could confuse students from an actually legitimate University of California, Berkeley. Students must take care to understand if the university they choose might be an unaccredited college, by performing background checks concerning the school and faculty. Some states, such as Oregon, have lists of unaccredited schools where degrees will not be accepted, like a degree from the University of Berkeley.
In 2004, the Texas attorney general filed a temporary restraining order against the Trinity Southern University for deceptive practices. By 2005, the owners of the school were issued a court order to no longer promote fraudulent college programs or state that they are affiliated with legitimate universities, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
People who gain false diplomas can face serious charges if their degree credentials are questioned. People who buy their degrees from diploma mills may be suspended or fired from their jobs. Stanton University is another diploma mill that was selling fake degrees to people who never attended a class or had a textbook from this college. Once located in Hawaii, a court order had this diploma mill close its doors permanently according to the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization.