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A high school student could enter a reputable university based on test scores and abilities. Or perhaps the heavy donation of their parents could cause an admissions officer to look again.
But for families looking for a safe solution, Rick Singer, 58, has proposed a criminal solution. Over seven years, the Entrepreneurial Life Coach took about $ 25 million from worried parents, recording a large portion of these donations in the form of tax-deductible donations to his charity, while channeling them toward pots and pans. wine, announced the authorities.
The children have entered. The parents sang his praises. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors revealed what had become a national conspiracy. Fifty people, including TV stars, like Full house the actor Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman of Desperate housewives, as well as university coaches, have been accused of crimes related to the regime. Singer pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud and obstruction of justice. The court documents revealed that he had cooperated with the investigation once before the FBI in hopes of obtaining a lighter sentence.
Here's how he scammed the college admissions system:
Singer founded The Key, a life coaching and academic consulting company offering services such as test preparation and campus tours. Her website has touted her mentoring experience with clients of "the most respected families in the world".
But in a June 2018 phone call that was tapped by the FBI, Singer explained the real service provided.
"What we do is help the wealthiest families in the United States to educate their children," he said. "They want guarantees, they want this thing to be done, they do not want to play with this thing."
He added that traditionally there was the entrance door of admissions: merit and academics. An important donation to a school could also allow students to enter via a backdoor, but Singer pointed out that there was no guarantee. He offered what he called a side door. He would ensure the entrance to the school of choice of the student and the parents would pay him.
"It's home run," Singer said in a conversation with a father.
"And it works?" the father asked.
"Every time," said Singer laughing.
The California Life Coach claimed to have hosted more than 700 teens in the school of his choice and prosecutors claimed to have included Yale University; Stanford University; the University of Texas; University of Southern California; and the University of California Los Angeles.
For some students, Singer would increase the SAT and ACT scores for fees ranging from $ 10,000 to $ 75,000. According to prosecutors, Huffman paid $ 15,000 for this service at the entrance examination to his eldest daughter's university.
Typically, Singer arranged for students to take the tests at facilities where he had paid the supervisors. They were provided with answers or their response sheets were surreptitiously corrected, prosecutors said. In some cases, a Singer employee would pose as a student and take the test for him.
Students were often unaware that their parents had paid for their scores to be manipulated, prosecutors said.
"She'll think about having it taken," Singer told one of the parents. "She will feel good about herself."
To hide the payments, Singer asked the parents to donate money to his Key Worldwide charitable foundation. Donating to a 501 (c) 3 organization offered parents a tax deduction, added Singer, and would hide where the money had been spent. In exchange for a payment, the foundation sent a letter thanking parents for their help "in implementing our plan to provide educational programs and personal enrichment to disadvantaged youth".
Tax documents indicate that the foundation received $ 3.7 million in contributions in 2016 alone. Thousands of dollars in income have been donated to charitable groups, but the vast majority of these monies went directly to universities, athletics departments or individual coaches.
It was not a charity at all, but bribes, prosecutors said. Singer would arrange payments to coaches who would nominate his students as recruits in return. Coaches then sent lists of recruited student-athletes to admissions officers – who did not know that students, in some cases, did not even practice the sport for which they were recruited.
According to prosecutors, this arrangement brought in $ 2.7 million over several years to former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst. Ernst was indicted on Tuesday for conspiracy to commit racketeering. The Key Worldwide Foundation designates him as a paid consultant.
And the parents seemed satisfied with the thousands of dollars they had paid in bribes. On the Key website, Singer posted testimonials attributed to clients, including several appointed by prosecutors on Tuesday.
"Matteo is very excited to study environmental science at USC – it's a dream come true and you've helped make it a reality," said a 2018 message attributed to Devin Sloane.
According to prosecutors, in 2017, Sloane agreed that Singer uses a "financial side door" to ensure his son a place at the USC as a rookie in the water polo team.
Although his son does not play water polo, Sloane bought some equipment and worked with a graphic designer to create what looked like a picture of an aspiring athlete, prosecutors said. An employee of Singer's created a sports profile, prosecutors said, and Sloane was charged with paying $ 50,000 directly to the USC Women's Athletics Department, as well as $ 200,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation.
According to court documents, Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, reportedly took $ 500,000 in bribes to bring their two daughters to the USC as recruits to the team. 39; team.
Marci Palatella also wanted her son to go to the USC – to such an extent that she paid nearly $ 500,000 in 2018 to the Singer Foundation, prosecutors said. In exchange, Singer arranged for her son to score 1410 at SAT and Palatella would also have paid $ 100,000 to USC Sports Director, Donna Heinel, to introduce the teenager as a football rookie.
Heinel was fired on Tuesday after he was also charged with racketeering.
In January, Palatella again spoke to Singer, thanking him, prosecutors said.
"It was worth every penny."
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