It takes years of study and a fortune in tuition to earn a college degree, unless you take the kind of shortcut former Tarpon Springs Fire Chief Rick Butcher did.
Instead of cracking the books, Butcher simply went online and bought his BS degree from Almeda University, one of the world’s most notorious diploma mills.
“It just seemed like an opportunity and I took it,” Butcher said. “And it wasn’t worth taking.”
“The school doesn’t exist. It’s smoke and mirrors,” said retired FBI agent Allen Ezell. “It’s never been real anywhere.”
Ezell should know. Before retiring from the FBI, Ezell spent 11 years busting diploma mills. He’s written a book on degree mills and even recently purchased his own degree from Almeda, as further proof of the school’s ongoing diploma scam.
“I paid about $1,000 plus a $50 fee,” Ezell said.