Manhattan, NY – Two fugitive "students" in the Touro College degree scandal turned themselves in – including a bank teller who turned his F's into A's, and a teacher wannabe who paid a crooked administrator $25,000 for a bogus master's degree.
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The lawyer-negotiated arrests of Irene Zalivansky, 23, and Uzi Azizov, 22, both of Brooklyn, is the latest development in the widening investigation into how good grades – and even degrees – were sold by a pair of crooked administrators at the international college's New York campus, as was reported here on Vos Iz Neias.
As the cuffs came off from Zalivansky in Manhattan Supreme Court, she pleaded not guilty to felony falsifying business records.
Officials allege she gave $25,000 to Mikhail Cherner, Touro's former Computer Center director – who is also under indictment.
In return for her cash, Zalivansky got a master's in special ed without ever stepping inside a Touro classroom.
So far, seven degree-purchasing "students," charged with handling some of the payoffs have been indicted.
But Manhattan prosecutors and NYPD Computer Crime Squad investigators who have used the home and office computers of the ring leaders, believe that thousands of others may have transpired.
"There are definitely more student arrests on the way," said one law-enforcement source. [nypost]
Come on, raboisai. Have some restraint. All the people mentioned in this article are Jews, so lets not bash them. They may not be observant Yidden, but they are Yidden nevertheless.
Lets not be self hating Jews and play into the hand of antisemites by bashing our fellow Jews.
I am glad to now be told that there is a State test necesary to get a Masters in Special Ed. I was not aware of this and I stand corrected.
The fact that there is a need for an undergrad degree with prerequisites does not mean much, I assume these were also available for the right price.
I assume this means that there can not be any fraud getting the license. Is there a fingerprint used to verify who takes the test? It sure seems that somebody that is the type to buy a degree might ask someone to take the test for them.
Is there a limit on how many times someone can take the exam, buy the degree and keep trying?
By the way, I have a DDS that required fingerprinting and had a strict limit on number of times you could take the test. The limit was 2 with another chance after an extra year of training.
The state tests are very difficult and many of my friends who have earned real degrees from Touro and other colleges have needed to take the test several times.
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I agree.
anon 6:19
you obviously have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. I am in spec. Ed.
A masters Degree is only 1 part of what you need for a state license. You also need a Bachelor’s degree with all of the state pre-requisites before you ca get a master’s. (BTW out of state master’s in Spec. ED. are not neccesarily accepted by the board of Ed.) Without a state license you simply can’t bill any agency that is funded by the state.
The state tests are very difficult and many of my friends who have earned real degrees from Touro and other colleges have needed to take the test several times.
This issue affected the non-Jewish division of Touro. The employees involved who orchestrated this are non-Jewish as well.
The 2 students arrested sound Russian. I don’t think they are Jewish though.
As somebody with a child thatgets special ed. I can see this easily.
Special Ed. is very well paid and, I believe, has no national test or standard. There can be little acusation of failure at the job because the failure is atributed to the child’s disability.
There are huge numbersa of frum special ed teachers, many of which work in private homes at a really nice rate billed to the Board of Ed. I hope that anybody that did this gets prosecuted, regardless of the bogus teacher’s skill or need to steal.
These are not Touro students from Ave J or Boro Park campus. Not the heimish students. Not yet atleast, and hopefully not ever.
Touro has thousands of students citywide, nationwide, and worldwide. We all know of the frum school, but it is much much more than that.
Don’t jump and say “oy” or “maidlach” when it is not the heimish involved in this one at this time at all. These are low paid employees of Touro who found a way to earn extra cash by using their access to change grades. It is not the higher-ups at Touro at all.
Calm down and let the chips fall where they may.
Hashem Yerachaim!! When will this all end? I am afraid this is the tip of the iceberg! How many Yeshiva bochorim are involved? How many maidlach? How many are already married with children?
Another question: we are not talking about btl’s over here, we are talking about degrees in special education!! How can these people go in S.E. without ever learning what to do? How can they even charge money for what they do? You would want your child being instructed by a special Ed teacher that never stepped foot into a classroom? Oi gevalt! This is too much!