Wal-Mart Competition

LOS ANGELES - Wal-Mart heiress Elizabeth Paige Laurie, accused of paying a fellow college student $20,000 to do her homework, has returned her University of Southern California degree, officials said.

The move came nearly a year after Laurie's freshman-year roommate, Elena Martinez, told the ABC newsmagazine "20/20" that she had written term papers and done assignments for the heiress for 3 1/2 years.

"Paige Laurie voluntarily has surrendered her degree and returned her diploma to the university. She is not a graduate of USC," the school said in a statement dated Sept. 30. "This concludes the university's review of the allegations concerning Ms. Laurie."

USC spokesman James Grant said Wednesday the university had no further comment.

A call seeking comment from Bill Laurie, the father of Elizabeth Paige Laurie, at his Paige Sports Entertainment company was not immediately returned. The family has repeatedly declined to comment on the cheating allegation.

Martinez said at the time of the "20/20" broadcast that she joined the ROTC to earn money for college but eventually dropped out because she couldn't afford tuition at USC. She said she learned a great deal by doing Laurie's class work.

Martinez has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment.

Laurie, the granddaughter of Wal-Mart co-founder Bud Walton, was given a bachelor's degree by the USC Annenberg School for Communication in May 2004.

After the homework allegations surfaced last November, the University of Missouri removed Laurie's name from a sports arena named for her.

Laurie's parents, billionaires Bill and Nancy Laurie, the daughter of Walton, had received naming rights for the building in exchange for donating $25 million toward its construction.

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