NEW YORK
A federal judge sentenced a Pakistani man to 21 months in prison for operating an international diploma mill scheme through his company, Axact,, according to officials.
Umair Hamid plead guilty on April 6 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to officials.
U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams also ordered that Hamid, 31, of Karachi, Pakistan, to forfeit $5.3 million.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Umair Hamid and Axact operated a massive diploma mill that preyed on consumers who thought their tuition would pay for a college education. Instead, Hamid provided victims with worthless fake diplomas. Defendants like Hamid who profit from fake schools face very real penalties, including prison time.”
According to court documents, here are the facts and circumstances surrounding this case.
Hamid helped run a massive diploma mill through his employer, Axact, which has held itself out as one of the world’s leading information technology providers.
Hamid and his co-conspirators deceived individuals across the world, including throughout the United States, into enrolling in supposed high schools, colleges, and universities.
Consumers paid upfront fees, believing that in return they would be enrolled in real educational courses and, eventually, receive legitimate degrees. Instead, consumers received no instruction and worthless diplomas, according to officials.
Hamid, who served most recently as Axact’s Assistant Vice President of International Relations, helped Axact conduct the fraud in the U.S. among other locations.
On Axact’s behalf, he served as the primary contact during negotiations with a former competitor for Axact’s acquisition of websites for fake educational institutions.
Under Axact’s control, those websites then continued to deceive consumers into paying upfront enrollment fees for non-existent educational programs.
In May 2015, Pakistani authorities shut down Axact and arrested multiple individuals.
But Hamid, who was not arrested at that time, continued to work in furtherance of the fraudulent business, even personally traveling to the U.S. in 2016 to open a bank account used to collect money from defrauded consumers, according to authorities.