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Umair Hamid was sentenced to 21 months in prison for his role in an international diploma mill scheme operated through the Pakistani company Axact.

Hamid pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to documents in the case, Hamid helped run a massive diploma mill through his employer, Axact, a leading information technology provider. Hamid and his co-conspirators allegedly deceived individuals across the world, including 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 educational courses and eventually, receive legitimate degrees. Instead, consumers allegedly received no instruction and worthless diplomas. Hamid served most recently as Axact's Assistant Vice President of International Relations.

Marketplace has revealed that fake diplomas are a billion-dollar industry, with more than 800 Canadians purchasing a fake degree through Pakistan-based IT firm Axact.

Former FBI agent Allen Ezell investigated diploma mills for decades and estimates that half of new PhDs issued each year in the Unites States are fake.

The effects are twofold: First, devaluing legitimate degrees and second, putting the public at risk when they are in the hands of professionals who lack the proper skills and expertise.

An undercover operation revealed that the total cost to receive three PhDs, transcripts and a record of attendance papers is just $1,550. There are more than 100 fake online schools and accreditation bodies connected to Axact.

Shahbul Haque of New Delhi got more than he bargained for when he was approached by an educational consultancy agency in Janakpuri.
 
Haque paid Rs 5,000 and was given a degree certificate, a marksheet and a migration certificate that entered his year of passing as over a decade earlier.
 
When Haque approached the Tilak Nagar police in January, it was discovered that he had been approached by Rupesh Kumar after applying on a website to appear for the Class X examination. The police tracked Kumar down and arrested him, along with four others, who were linked to six fake certificates.
 
The five were running an elaborate scheme, securing money from the sale of more than 2,000 certificates since 2014.