Husband, daughter of Spokane diploma mill operator enter pleas

The husband and daughter of a woman who operated a Spokane-based diploma mill have pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

Eastern Washington U.S. Attorney James A. McDevitt says 68-year-old Steven K. Randock Sr. and 39-year-old Heidi Kae Lorhan entered pleas similar to that entered Wednesday by Dixie E. Randock.

An indictment returned in 2005 says the Randocks and others used a string of fictional online universities to sell bogus college degrees and transcripts to more than 8,200 customers around the world.

Investigators allege the operation took in $5 million.

The Randocks and their daughter, who live in rural Spokane, face a maximum three years in prison and $250,000 fine when they are sentenced in the next few months in U.S. District Court.