Thomas James Kirk II (also known as Thomas McPherson) operated several fraudulent higher education organizations (diploma mills), including LaSalle University in Mandeville, Louisiana (not associated with the Lasallian educational institutions), the University of San Gabriel Valley, and Bienville University. Kirk's "LaSalle University" was shut down in 1996 following a raid by the FBI. Kirk was indicted for tax fraud in 1996 and, after a plea agreement, was sentenced to five years in U.S. federal prison. Kirk later died in January 2008. He was the father of TJ Kirk.