The scandal of universities: how the network that invoiced bribes to rich and famous parents operated – 13/03/2019

In the United States, university income is always a stressful time for any student beyond his or her social status. Admission is a long, expensive and complex process for everything related to the administration and the economy. Thousands of families are working to save money or even get into debt so that their children can study.

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However, a scandal revealed that the wealthy relied on the "help" of a mafia network to guarantee the entry of their children who, in some cases, did not even know that they were in the same situation. they had entered illegally. The two actresses of this maneuver are Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin (known for his participation in the sitcom Full House) and Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives series), who have spent millions of dollars for their studies. The latter was released on bail after paying $ 250,000.

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As the hours go by, more and more details about how this network that has moved millions of dollars are transcendent. We know that parents came to pay up to $ 6 million for their son to go to a most prestigious study house.

William Singer owned and operated Edge College & Career Network LLC ("The Key"), a university preparation and advice for profit. He introduced himself as a "university consultant" or an "admission counselor".

Once interested parents "contacted" him, he arranged for students to take their SAT or ACT exams (entry to college for undergraduate courses) at sites in Houston or Los Angeles where before he had bribed test administrators.

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Parents used False medical certificates to claim that the children had a learning disability, the candidates therefore had the opportunity to sit the exams in a room with only one supervisor or for two days.

They will then register for exams at a public high school in Houston or at a high school in a private West Hollywood university, two places Mr. Singer called "controlled" and for which Singer told his clients to give a reason why they would be in Houston or Hollywood, like a bar mitzvah or a wedding.

Most students thought that they were testifying legitimately, said one of the prosecutors in the case reported Tuesday. Subsequently, the supervisor corrected some of his answers so that his qualifications went exactly as planned.

Singer charged between $ 15,000 and $ 75,000 for correcting incorrect answers to an exam admission to the university of the children of their clients, or for a person posing as a test.

Also the accused corrupt university coachesfalsely certify that students have been recruited for certain school sports teams. Prosecutors also claimed to have falsified ethnicities and other personal information to highlight certain skills or conditions.

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The defendant, who was head of the entire company, was also CEO of the Key World Wide Foundation (KWF), a non-profit corporation he created as "the so-called organization Charity ", through which he has allocated millions of dollars to trainers. sports operators and testing to change the admission process. This foundation was also the one where the parents made the payments, which also allowed them to deduct taxes from their "donations".

According to the authorities, Singer fabricated student "profiles" of sports to be sent with registration applications, showing them on teams where they had not played and honors they had not won. Some parents even provided "live photographs of their children participating in sports activities". The employees of the singer came to put, with Photoshop, the faces of the candidates in images of athletes on the Internet.

One of the cases revealed is that of the former coach of Yale's women's football team, Rudolph Meredith, who has accepted $ 400,000 to receive a student who I had never played football in competition, according to the prosecution. For this service, the girl's family paid Singer $ 1.2 million.

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After an extensive investigation that involved 200 agents across the United States, 50 people were charged in six states, on a list of known actresses, businessmen, and high purchasing power personalities.

Singer himself has been cooperating with federal investigators since September 2018. He pleaded guilty to four counts in federal court in Boston on Tuesday and the judge set sentence to June 19. For now, Singer has been released after paying a $ 500,000 bail.

Source: New York Times and AFP

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