Melissa Howard, a candidate running for office in Florida, is caught in a web of lies.
Howard, who is up against GOP opponent, Tommy Gregory, for a seat in the Sarasota-area state House, claimed that she graduated from Miami University in Ohio, but school officials say the diploma is fake.
The Republican politician explained via a Facebook post that she worked hard to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Ohio school.
Howard first stated she got her diploma in 1996. She later changed the date and said her graduation was two years prior.
The Republican candidate running for the GOP nomination happily shared a picture where she is holding her Bachelor of Science in Marketing diploma to silence the critics and move on with her campaign.
Along with the copy of the diploma, she shared a partial college transcript on social media. However, hours after the post went up, the lies started to unravel.
Officials from the Miami University in Ohio said the document is fake because they do not give out Bachelor of Science in Marketing diplomas.
The school said that while records show that Howard did attend the university, she did not graduate.
Miami University general counsel Robin Parker explained that they offer a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences if Howard had graduated with her Retailing major as she claims. Parker also noted another issue with the diploma.
The photo features the signatures of James C. Garland and Robert C. Johnson — Mr. Garland was President of Miami University in 1996.
Johnson could not have signed Howard’s diploma because he was not the dean for the School of Business.
Howard removed the diploma pictures from Facebook, and according to local media outlets, she is thinking of removing herself from the August 28 Republican primary.
