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Fifty people – including wealthy parents, sports coaches and exam supervisors – were dismantled on Tuesday in a scandal from one ocean to the other admission to a college that had seen under-qualified students accepted fraudulently in some of the best schools in the country.
In unsealed court records across the country, 33 deeply affluent parents are accused of spending more than $ 25 million from 2011 to 2018 to be admitted to schools such as Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, Wake Forest and University of Southern University. California for their academically mediocre children.
William "Rick" Singer, an expert in university preparation, could have channeled the funds through a dummy non-profit association and would have paid cohorts to file SAT or ACT scores, or allow candidates to register as a coveted sport. recruit.
Some parents would have paid up to $ 6.5 million to Singer – but the average rate of securing a guaranteed seat in a school was between $ 250,000 and $ 400,000.
"There can not be a separate admission system for the rich and there will also be no separate criminal justice system," said Massachusetts Massachusetts lawyer Andrew Lelling. who announced the bomb charges at a press conference Tuesday.
"We are not talking about giving a building, so a school is more likely to take your son or daughter. We are talking about deception and fraud. False test scores. False sports references. False photos. University officials bribed.
In total, 50 people face federal charges, including Singer's associates and 13 university coaches. Investigators pointed out that the investigation was ongoing.
Singer has been charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He pleaded guilty and cooperates with the authorities.
Most of his associates and college coaches are charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Parents are routinely charged with conspiracy to commit postal fraud and honest services for using their deep pockets to pull the strings of their children.
Among them, television actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin and Loughlin's husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.
Other notable defendants include Gordon Caplan, co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, and Gamal Abdelaziz, former senior executive of Wynn Resorts.
Singer, 58, who ran a college counseling center called Edge College and Career Network in California, donated some of the money from the bribe to crooked coaches and business partners, including two administrators from the college entrance examination, said prosecutors.
The alleged scam had two components. One of them targeted academics and involved Singer who paid bribes to test supervisors to change student responses to their ACT or SAT exams – or ask a candidate, co-defendant Mark Riddell, to take the test on their behalf, said the government.
Caplan, for example, would have made a $ 75,000 "donation" to the Singer Foundation worldwide to organize Riddell – identified as the Cooperating Witness 2 in court documents – to monitor his daughter's ACT review, and then to change the answers to them was done.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Singer extolled his success with 800 other families, claiming that he had been successful in convincing Caplan.
"Okay, so who we are, we are helping the wealthiest families in the United States to school their kids," Singer told Caplan during a June 15 phone call, according to court documents. "It's the home run of home runs."
"And does it work?" Caplan said.
"Every time," said Singer.
During her conversations with Singer, Caplan suggested that her daughter go to Cornell – although it is unclear whether she was accepted there or elsewhere.
Caplan was released on a $ 500,000 personal pledge following a brief appearance in Manhattan federal court. He declined to comment.
In the second scenario, Singer participated in the creation of "impressive" sports profiles so that they could apply as athletes, even if they have never practiced this sport, said Lelling.
"Some people simply did not show up for athletics, some showed up with an injury and I think some played briefly and then stopped," he said.
The coaches charged include John Vandemoer, chief sailing coach at Stanford, and Rudolph "Rudy" Meredith, former coach of women's football at Yale.
Four of USC have also been charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, including former women's football coach Ali Khosroshahin; former coach Laura Janke; men's water polo coach Jovan Vavic; and Donna Heinel, Senior Associate Director of Sport.
Meredith allegedly took bribes to quickly send two teenage girls to Ivy League school by allowing them to apply as football recruits – knowing that one of them did not really practice the sport .
In one case, Singer paid Meredith a check for $ 400,000 from his KWF account, while the claimant's parents paid Singer $ 1.2 million in installments, according to court documents.
Meredith, who is facing charges including a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest service fraud, resigned from Yale in November. Like Riddell, he should plead guilty.
Singer, of Newport Beach, Calif., And Vandemoer pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges Tuesday.
"All of these things and many more, that's what I did," Singer admitted in federal court in Boston. "I created a side door that would ensure that families could enter."
Singer, who has been working with prosecutors since September, also pleaded guilty of obstructing justice for notifying several people of the investigation, the federal government said. Authorities seized $ 5.2 million from its fake KWF charity account.
Singer will be sentenced to 20 years in jail on June 19th.
It is not clear what colleges will do, if any, for students who have been victimized by misleading practices by their parents, at least five of whom have already graduated.
At the same time, Vandermoer admitted to having accepted a $ 270,000 contribution to the Sanford Sailing Program to recommend the admission of two potential students as competitive seamen when they were not.
In court, he denied having amassed money for himself, claiming that he had used the money to buy new materials for his team.
After announcing the charges, Stanford announced the dismissal of Vandemoer. USC said it canned Heinel and Vavic.
USC indicated that it was in the process of identifying all the funds received in the alleged ploy.
Lelling said that no schools where students were admitted under false pretenses had been involved in Singer's scam. Many students did not know the influence of their parents on their admission to college.
"These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege," said Lelling, who hinted that further arrests could occur. "For every student admitted by fraud, an honest and truly talented student was rejected."
He added that parents' so-called "donations" to Singer charity allowed them to "hide the true nature of payments", as well as "to go without a tax deduction at the end of the year" .
Dozens of arrests have affected six states on both coasts following a ten-month investigation dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues," according to FBI Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta.
Bonavolonta said the real victims of this case were the "hard-working students" who were stolen "their right, while they were in an elite university".
The College Board, the nonprofit organization that administers THS, promised that those who facilitate cheating on the exam would be held accountable – "regardless of their income or status".
"The College Board has a comprehensive and strong approach to fighting cheating and we are working closely with law enforcement as part of these efforts," said the College Board in a statement. "We will always take all necessary measures to ensure a level playing field for the overwhelming majority of candidates who are honest and who respect the rules."
Additional reports from Priscilla DeGregory and Post Wires
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