GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Eamonn Higgins has never earned a college degree in his own name, but prosecutors allege that for the past seven years the 46-year-old has been going to school non-stop for dozens of other students.
Higgins, of Laguna Niguel, was charged Monday with operating a ring of illegal test-takers who allegedly helped dozens of Middle Eastern nationals obtain U.S. student visas by passing English-proficiency exams for them – and then helped them hold onto those visas by taking college courses, passing finals and writing term papers in their names.
The allegations outlined in court papers reveal a potentially dangerous security breach in the country’s student visa system and underscore the vulnerability of a tracking process that relies on schools and testing centers to verify the identities of people taking the mandated exams.