HOUSTON -- It claimed to provide official and accredited high school diplomas, but the online Lincoln Academy, which charged a $299 fee, was fraudulent and bogus according to court pleadings filed by the Texas Attorney General Office.
The so-called home schooling program, with offices off the East Freeway in East Houston, provided no coursework and no instruction, and its diplomas were "worthless pieces of paper" according to court documents.
Lincoln Academy and the State of Texas agreed to a final judgment and permanent injunction, which requires Lincoln to permanently shut down its website, cease advertising, and wind down all operations.
In February 2012, the I-Team confronted Lincoln Academy's owners, about how our photographer's Basset Hound took the school's online test. The questions were dog gone laughable, such as "A triangle has how many sides" or "true or false, the President lives in the White House."
After paying $300, Molly the dog's high school diploma and official transcript arrived.
In 2012, we confronted Lincoln Academy's Nancy Lubbat.
I-Team: "Do you know who you're awarding diplomas to? A dog, what do you have to say to that?"
Lubbat did not respond back then, but in the Agreed Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction, Lincoln Academy agreed to shut down and pay the State of Texas $2 million—including $1.4 million in compensation to deceived customers.
Those consumers can file a complaint with the Texas Attorney General at 800-252-8011 or fill out a form available online.
In response to the State action, Lincoln Academy provided the following statement:
"Lincoln Academy was providing a legal, valuable service that helped thousands of high school dropouts earn their high school diploma and further their education or employment. In fact, as you can see in the Agreed Final Judgment, there was no proof of any wrongdoing. We deemed it was best to settle this lawsuit and stop operating the school because of the overreaching power the Attorney General possesses. We have no regrets about the thousands of students we were able to help who were satisfied with Lincoln Academy."
