Felicity Huffman, Lori Lincoln Appointed in Federal Matter: NPR

Federal officials have accused Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin and dozens of other people of mail fraud, according to what the Department of Justice has described as a ploy to circumvent college admissions standards by making university and sports degrees and offering bribes to help their children attend prestigious universities.

"We are talking about deception and fraud – false test results, false references, fake photos, bribed university officials," said Andrew Lelling, US District Attorney for Massachusetts.

According to Mr. Lelling, 33 parents have "paid huge sums" for their children to go to schools such as Yale, sending money to a man named William Singer for falsifying records and getting false results. to important tests such as SAT and ACT.

"Singer's customers have paid between $ 200,000 and $ 6.5 million for this service," said Lelling.

The program ran from 2011 to February 2019, he said, adding that in most cases parents paid Singer $ 250,000 to $ 450,000 per student.

"These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege," said Lelling. "They include, for example, leaders of private and public companies, successful investors in the securities and real estate industry, two well-known actresses, a famous fashion designer and the co-president of the company. a global law firm. "

The accused parents, Lelling added, were already able to give their children "all the legitimate benefits," he added. They "instead chose to bribe and illegally manipulate the system to their advantage."

Other defendants include university athletic coaches and university exam administrators.

Lelling cited a case in which the Yale women's football coach had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars to place a student in the team, even though he knew that the student did not practice this sport.

The charges are part of a complex case that has been kept under seal. The details were revealed on Tuesday, while Singer pleaded guilty to a number of federal crimes, Lelling said.

Singer operated the Key Worldwide Foundation, a non-profit organization created in 2014 that promises to "unlock the doors of academic, social, personal and professional success."

On its website, the group says that it "touched the lives of hundreds of students who would never have been exposed to what higher education could do for them".

According to Key Worldwide, many of these students had "only life on the streets, surrounded by the violence of downtown gangs."

The organization claims to have worked with a number of groups, from Ladylike in Los Angeles to Houston Hoops Youth Basketball.

In addition to Singer, the court documents mention the following defendants accused of postal fraud:

Gregory Abbott

Marcia Abbott

Gamal Abdelaziz

Diane Blake

Todd Blake

Jane Buckingham

Gordon Caplan

I-Hsin Chen

Amy Colburn

Gregory Colburn

Robert Flaxman

Mossimo Giannulli

Elizabeth Henriquez

Manuel Henriquez

Douglas Hodge

Felicity Huffman

Agustin Huneeus, Jr.

Bruce Isackson

Davina Isackson

Michelle Janavs

Elisabeth Kimmel

Marjorie Klapper

Lori Loughlin

Toby MacFarlane

William McGlashan, Jr.

Marci Palatella

Peter Jan Sartorio

Stephen Semprevivo

Devin Sloane

John Wilson

Homayoun Zadeh

Robert Zangrillo