Reprecussions of the Busting of a Research Peer-Review Ring

In mid-July, news outlets reported on the crackdown on an academic journal "publishing and citation ring." The publication at hand is the Journal of Vibration and Control. At the heart of the ring is associate professor Chen Chen-yuan (Peter Chen) from National Pingtung University of Education (NPUE) in Taiwan. Apparently, Chen and possible others had created ~130 alias online accounts as puppet reviewers for the journal, with Chen reviewing at least one of his own submissions. The publisher SAGE and the journal editor-in-chief, Prof. Ali Nayfeh, discovered peer reviews using templates for responses and were unable to reach these reviewers. SAGE confronted Chen, who may not have cooperated with the investigation. Subsequently, SAGE notified the university and retracted 60 articles involved in the ring. Under investigation by the university, Chen resigned his position at NPUE. Nayfeh also stepped down from his position as editor. It is unclear how many people were involved in the ring, but other researchers may have unwittingly been included as co-authors. Among the authors listed on the retractions were Peter Chen's brother, Chen Chen-wu, and Peter's former thesis advisor, Wei-ling Chiang—the Taiwan Cabinet's Minister of Education. This led to calls for Chiang resignation from the cabinet. Though Chiang maintains his innocence, he submitted his resignation. Peter Chen subsequently issued an open apology to Chiang for his indiscretion in using Chiang's name. Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology has also gotten involved as it had provided $170,000 in funds towards Chen's research. Furthermore, Chen could face charges of forgery.
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/10/scholarly-journal-retracts-60-articles-smashes-peer-review-ring/