Fraudulent confession scandal: a woman accused of paying a bribe of US $ 400,000 to get her son to UCLA



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A woman accused of paying $ 400,000 to bring her son to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) as a fake football recruit became the 52nd Corruption plan for college admissions, according to an unsealed indictment on Tuesday.

Xiaoning Sui, 48, of Surrey, British Columbia, has been charged with a charge of conspiracy and fraud in the indictment indictment in federal court. of Boston. The authorities said that she was arrested in Spain on Monday night and that she was being held there, while the authorities were seeking to extradite him to the United States.

Sui is the first person to be charged since June, when the parent Jeffrey Bizzack He pleaded guilty to paying $ 250,000 for his son to join the University of Southern California (USC) as a fake athlete. Dozens of other people were indicted in March when authorities announced the opening of an investigation.

Prosecutors said Sui had donated $ 400,000 to a charity run by admission consultant William "Rick" Singer as part of a project to have his son admitted to UCLA as a fake freshman. soccer. Sui is accused of providing Singer with his son's transcript and pictures of him playing tennis.

University of California at Los Angeles - UCLA
People speak on the phone on June 1, 2016 on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

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Singer worked with Laura Janke, a former assistant football coach at USC, to create a sports profile outlining Sui's son as one of the best players in two private soccer clubs in Canada, announced prosecutors. Singer and Janke both pleaded guilty.

Sui's son was admitted to UCLA as a football player in November 2018, according to authorities, and received a 25% scholarship. It is not known if his son is still attending school. A UCLA spokesperson did not immediately comment.

Prosecutors did not explain why Sui was not part of the initial group of parents indicted in March. We did not know right away if she had a lawyer to speak on her behalf.

According to figures from the 2016-2017 school year, tuition fees for students from outside the state of UCLA averaged $ 61,000 per year. year. The $ 400,000 bribe would cover at least six years at the university.

The scandal ensued dozens of wealthy parents accused of paying bribes to rig their children's SAT and ACT scores or have them admitted as athletes recruited from elite schools across the country, including Yale, Stanford Universities and Georgetown.

A college admissions scam exposes racial disparities

Of the 51 people previously indicted, 23 pled guilty, including the star of "Desperate Housewives" Felicity Huffman, who paid $ 15,000 to rig her daughter's SAT score. Last week, she was sentenced to 14 days in jail, 250 hours of community service and a $ 30,000 fine.

Before the sentencing on Sept. 14, Huffman apologized in tears, saying that she was "deeply sorry" for her actions. She also apologized directly to her daughter, Sophia.

"I can only say that I am so sorry, Sofia, I was scared and stupid.I now see everything I knew to be wrong.I realize now that love and truth must go hand in hand. I take full responsibility for my actions, "she said.

Prosecutors had requested a one – year sentence for Huffman. Federal Prosecutor Eric Rosen said: "with all due respect to the accused, welcome to parenthood".

"That's what all parents are going through," Rosen said. "What parenting does not do, it does not make you a criminal.This forces you to cheat.We want all that is best for our children, but most parents have moral compass not to exceed expectations. "

28 other defendants contest the charges against them, including the "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin and her seamstress husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who are accused of paying for their two daughters to enter the USC as fake athletes from the crew team.

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