KINGSTON, Jamaica — Education Minister Ronald Thwaites is warning people involved in providing fake educational credentials that they could face criminal sanctions.

Thwaites' warning follows a recent news report that people were selling fake Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) certificates and university degrees in a thriving illegal operation.

“I want to tell everybody that to do that is a futile exercise because it’s eventually going to be found out and there will be serious consequences, probably criminal ones, for those who do it and those who receive it and try to pass them off,” he cautioned.

The minister also encouraged people thinking of involving themselves with the scam to channel their energies and resources in obtaining legitimate certification.

“So, let us use the same energy and ingenuity and money that we deploy and try to falsify things to do them right the first time and to study hard and get the certification and pick yourself up if you didn’t manage the first time,” said Thwaites.

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