Six (more) people who were caught lying on their resumes

Posted by Jim Stroud

October 15, 2007

Wow! I thought my initial post was eye-opening. I guess this kind of thing is more prevalent than one would realize, hm?

Check this out…

Six people have been arrested since June and accused of submitting fake degrees in applications for jobs with the New York Fire Department, the authorities said yesterday.

According to the city’s Department of Investigation, the Fire Department’s candidate investigation division became suspicious of diplomas held by three men and three women who applied for jobs as firefighters, emergency medical technicians and a clerical associate. An investigation revealed that four of the candidates had submitted fake high school diplomas or equivalency certificates, and two had submitted degrees from Belford University, an online diploma mill, according to the Department of Investigation.

An investigator went to the Web site of Belford University and obtained a bachelor’s degree with highest honors in aerospace engineering for $509.15, the department said. After failing an “entry exam,” the investigator was urged by the Web site to take it again, and was sent the answers. The investigator had entered his age as 12 and had written, “I luv planes and rockets,” the authorities said.

One applicant was arrested in June, three in September and two on Thursday. A report released in January found that 14 members of the Fire Department had submitted fake degrees to be promoted or hired. The Fire Department said it rejected all but three of the fake diplomas and later fined all 14.

Charges in the latest inquiry include felonies of falsifying business records.

Source: 6 City Job Seekers Are Held in Sweep of Fake Degrees