Man Guilty of Giving Bogus College Degrees
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
An Orange County man pleaded guilty Monday to mail fraud for running a “diploma mill” offering degrees from a nonexistent university.
Ronald Pellar, 75, pleaded guilty to nine counts of mail fraud in a Santa Ana courtroom before U.S. District Judge Alicemarie Stotler, Assistant U.S. Atty. Donald Gaffney told City News Service.
Pellar faces a maximum term of 45 years in federal prison, Gaffney said, but prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of five years in prison and payment of a $2.2-million fine and about $2 million in restitution.
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