Axact's online universities issued real degrees

Axact's online universities issued real degrees
	FALSE
	"Online universities and high schools such as Belford University, Columbiana University and Barkley University were legitimate, accredited institutions offering genuine degrees and diplomas."
Domain	Education & Learning
Tactic	Fraud or Scam; Imposture; Fabrication;
Era	Current
First seen	2000s
Origin	A network of websites operated by Axact, a software company based in Karachi, Pakistan, exposed by The New York Times in May 2015
Last reviewed	2026-10-27
	Further reading: books on Education & Learning

The claim that Axact's online universities issued real degrees was the foundation of what investigators described as one of the largest diploma mill operations in the world. Axact, a Pakistani software company, ran hundreds of websites for fictitious universities and high schools, complete with professional-looking campuses in stock photos, testimonials, videos of actors posing as professors and invented accreditation bodies. Customers around the world, many in the Middle East, the United States and Britain, paid for degrees and diplomas that required little or no study. A New York Times investigation in May 2015 exposed the network, leading to raids, arrests and convictions in Pakistan and the United States.

The claim

The websites presented the schools as established institutions, often with American-sounding names and addresses, accreditation from official-sounding bodies, and options to earn degrees based on "life experience." Sales agents, working from call centers in Karachi, used high-pressure techniques to sell degrees, and then upsold customers with additional documents such as fake attestation certificates and letters purporting to come from US government officials.

What the evidence shows

Fictitious institutions. The New York Times reporter Declan Walsh, drawing on former employees, internal records and analysis of websites, reported in May 2015 that Axact operated a vast network of fake schools and accreditation bodies. Many sites listed addresses that were mailboxes or nonexistent offices.
Fake accreditation. The accrediting bodies cited by the schools were themselves created by the company. They were not recognized by the US Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, which oversee legitimate accreditation in the United States.
Scale. Former employees and investigators estimated that the operation sold degrees to tens of thousands of people and earned tens of millions of dollars a year.
Prosecutions. After the report, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency raided Axact's offices and arrested its chief executive, Shoaib Shaikh, and others. In 2018 an Islamabad court convicted Shaikh and other employees of fraud and sentenced them to prison; the proceedings were contested. In the United States, an Axact employee pleaded guilty in 2016 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud related to the diploma sales and was sentenced in 2017.
Continuing sales. A BBC investigation in 2018 reported that degree sales linked to the network had continued, including to buyers in the UK.

Harms

Fake degrees can lead to unqualified people working in jobs that affect public safety, such as health care and engineering. Buyers themselves are often victims, misled into believing they were enrolling in real programs, and can lose jobs or face prosecution when their credentials are discovered.

Why it persists

Diploma mills exploit the high value placed on credentials and the difficulty of verifying institutions across borders. Online education has made it easier to create convincing websites, and some employers do not check whether a school is properly accredited.

Lessons for readers

Check accreditation through official sources, such as government education ministries or recognized accrediting organizations.
Be wary of degrees offered for "life experience" or with little or no coursework.
Fake accreditation bodies are a common feature of diploma mills.
Employers should verify degrees directly with institutions.
High-pressure sales tactics are a warning sign in education.

Sources

Declan Walsh, "Fake Diplomas, Real Cash: Pakistani Company Axact Reaps Millions," The New York Times, May 17, 2015.
US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, case of an Axact employee charged in connection with diploma sales (2016–2017).
BBC News, investigation into continued sales of fake degrees linked to Axact (2018).
Allen Ezell and John Bear, Degree Mills: The Billion-Dollar Industry That Has Sold Over a Million Fake Diplomas (Prometheus Books, 2005; updated 2012).