BOARD DATE: 19 November 2009 DOCKET NUMBER: AR20090011726 THE BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING EVIDENCE: 1. Application for correction of military records (with supporting documents provided, if any). 2. Military Personnel Records and advisory opinions (if any). THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE: 1. The applicant requests that diplomas showing award of a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Arts in Marketing from Saint Regis University be expunged from his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) and his education level on his ERB (Enlisted Records Brief) be corrected accordingly. 2. The applicant states he contacted Saint Regis University to obtain his degrees on line. He believed the diplomas to be valid because he was informed that his prior college course, military training certificate, job evaluation and experience would qualify him for these degrees. He states he recently learned that it was a scam and the degrees were not valid. 3. The applicant provides copies of the two diplomas in question. CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE: 1. Records available to the Board indicate the applicant commenced his military service as a member of the Army National Guard (ARNG) in 1986. He served slightly more than 4 years in the Regular Army (RA) between 1987 and 1991 and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) in December 1991. In September 2003 he was promoted to pay grade E-7 and in April 2005 he executed an indefinite reenlistment contract with the USAR. 2. According to information contained in a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) report filed in his OMPF, in December 2003 the applicant submitted copies of two diplomas from Saint Regis University which indicated he had been awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology on 5 June 1997 and a Master of Arts Degree in Marketing on 5 June 2000. The investigation noted the applicant had purchased the diplomas in 2003 and asked to have both diplomas back dated at a cost of $1300.00, which, he noted, was representative of “a Bachelor/Master combo price which was offered by Saint Regis….” The investigation indicated that a review of the applicant’s education file revealed that he had taken one college class from Inter-American University in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as many technical courses in automotive mechanics at the Automeca Technical College in Puerto Rico. 3. The USACIDC report noted that Saint Regis University was one of several fictitious institutions operated out of Spokane, WA as an internet-based diploma business selling false and fraudulent academic products, including degrees, fabricated academic transcripts, and “Professorships.” Individuals involved in the diploma mill operations were sentenced to various prison terms after prosecution by an Assistant United States Attorney. 4. As a result of the investigation, in May 2009 the applicant was issued a General Officer Letter of Reprimand for purchasing fraudulent degrees and then submitting them for filing in his OMPF when he knew the information was false. The letter of reprimand is filed in his OMPF. 5. Army Regulation 600-8-104 (Military Personnel Information Management/ Records) states that once placed in the OMPF, documents become a permanent part of that file and will not be removed from a fiche or moved to another part of the fiche unless directed by one of following: The Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR). The Department of the Army Suitability Evaluation Board (DASEB). Army appeal boards. Chief, Appeals and Corrections Branch, PERSCOM. The OMPF custodian when documents have been improperly filed. Commander, PERSCOM, ATTN: TAPC–PDO–PO, as an approved policy change to this regulation. Chief, Appeals Branch, ARPERCEN. Chief, Appeals Branch, National Guard Personnel Center. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: 1. Cleary, the fraudulent diplomas should not have been filed in the applicant’s OMPF and the issuance of the reprimand confirms that fact. To retain the fraudulent diplomas or to maintain the applicant’s education level beyond that which he is truly authorized would continue to present a false picture of the applicant’s true educational level. 2. In view of the foregoing it would be appropriate and in the interest of equity to remove the two fraudulent diplomas from the applicant’s OPMF (less the copies that are enclosures to the USACIDC report) and to restore his education level in any other military personnel forums as appropriate, including on his ERB, to the level he is truly authorized. BOARD VOTE: ___x____ ___x____ ___x____ GRANT FULL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF ________ ________ ________ GRANT FORMAL HEARING ________ ________ ________ DENY APPLICATION BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION: The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant a recommendation for relief. As a result, the Board recommends that all Department of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by: a. removing the Bachelor of Science in Biology and Master of Arts in Marketing diplomas issued by Saint Regis University from his OMPF, with the exception of the copies contained in the USACIDC report; and b. restoring his educational level in any other military personnel forums, including his ERB, to the level consistent with his valid educational level. ___________x____________ CHAIRPERSON I certify that herein is recorded the true and complete record of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in this case. ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090011726 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1 ABCMR Record of Proceedings (cont) AR20090011726 3 ARMY BOARD FOR CORRECTION OF MILITARY RECORDS RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1