Accreditation denied at Mandeville's Lasalle University
Well, here they are.
His office said that he obtained his PhD from the LaSalle University in Manderville, Louisiana. Unfortunately for Martin, the town where he obtained his PhD in 1996 is really spelled Mandeville, and it is the subject of a Federal probe into corruption and money laundering.
So much for a credible basis for a lawsuit, eh?
This is from the U.S. House of Representatives Banking Committee hearings in 1999
(2) La Salle University
Based upon SARs and complaints by victim-students, the New Orleans Office of the FBI initiated an investigation into LaSalle University, Mandeville, Louisiana, a
mail order correspondence school which offered external degree studies. The SARs and complaints received concerned the structuring and money laundering by
companies and individuals associated with LaSalle. La Salle solicited students through printed advertisements in magazines and major newspapers, had a national and
international student registration of over 15,000 students, but later was found to be nothing more than a sophisticated diploma mill not recognized by any collegiate
accrediting body. La Salle defrauded unsuspecting students by leading them to believe that they were accredited by the Council on Post Secondary Christian Education
(COPCE) located in Washington, D.C. COPCE was established by La Salle management as a further level of deception, leading its students to believe they were
attending an accredited university. La Salle acquired approximately $36 million in its multi-tiered ploy to obtain students.
The students being targeted by La Salle were defrauded by over $2 million per semester in student fees paid by check, credit card or bank draft. La Salle deceived the
victim-students concerning the cost of tuition. Once the victim-student was enrolled, the management would double charge the draft or credit card of the provider.
La Salle used many shell companies to conceal the source of the income it generated. Victim students were duped into believing that the university had a religious
affiliation, and served as a nonprofit institution. Over 12 different bank accounts were located by the FBI-some located in the Cayman Islands, maintained under
various company names. The accounts were used by the president of La Salle to buy drugs, produce pornographic movies, and establish a quasi-militia organization
with anti-government objectives.
La Salle had evaded local and federal prosecution by operating in various locations, starting in California in 1985 and relocating to Missouri, Nevada, Arizona, and
Florida before relocating to Louisiana in 1992. Pursuant to the information provided by SARs and complaints, the FBI executed search warrants in July 1996. The
additional evidence produced by the searches allowed the FBI to issue seizure warrants for bank accounts totaling over $10 million. Later, the home of the La Salle
president, valued at approximately $2 million, was forfeited.
In the fall of 1997, all management officials of La Salle were convicted of various charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. In 1998, all monies seized
by the FBI were forfeited, and returned to the victim-students as restitution.

