Let that be a Lesson to You!

It's not just D.C., it's everywhere. When I was still in the field of academe, I don't recall anyone's credentials EVER being checked. I sat on several hiring committees and went through the process of being hired by colleges and universities a couple of times myself. References are called and if those come back well, the person's resume' is taken at face value. The one exception I encountered to this was the Federal government (believe it or not). They required that the applicant for a professional position send a sealed copy of their college transcripts along with the application forms.