Celebrities lose their jobs and students sue US colleges in the admissions scandal | Entertainment



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Fifty people, including 33 parents and athletics coaches, have been charged with the biggest college admissions scandal in the country. Photo: File

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin was dropped by a television network and her daughter lost a sponsorship deal Thursday as students sued prestigious universities following the growing fallout from a vast corruption scandal in universities.

Crown Media Family Networks, the company that owns Hallmark Cable, has established links with Loughlin, its Mysteries of the garage sale star, after being accused in the scandal, said Thursday.

"We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped the development of all productions broadcast on the Crown Media Family Network channels," the actress said, the company said in a statement.

Hallmark's announcement follows a previous one from LVMH's Sephora beauty chain, which announced the end of its partnership with Olivia, Loughlin's daughter.

Olivia Giannulli, the 19-year-old daughter of Full house The star and designer Mossimo Giannulli is an "influencer" of social media who calls Olivia Jade online.

The products of his makeup collaboration were removed from Sephora's website on Thursday afternoon. It was not clear right away if his products were available in stores.

A representative of Olivia Giannulli could not be immediately contacted for comment.

Loughlin and her husband were accused Tuesday of paying $ 500,000 in a ploy to cheat on university entrance exams and bribe sports coaches to help Olivia and her sister, Isabella. Giannulli, to enter the University of Southern California, according to court documents. .

Loughlin and her husband were remanded in federal custody and released on Wednesday as separate obligations of $ 1 million.

Refused a shot just

The lawsuit began on Wednesday, a day after federal prosecutors announced to a California-based company about $ 25 million worth of parents seeking places for their children in the best schools, including the universities of Georgetown, Stanford and Yale.

Fifty people, including 33 parents and athletics coaches, have been charged with the biggest college admissions scandal in the country. The brain of the accused, William Singer, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.

In a civil lawsuit, Erica Olsen and Kalea Woods, students at Stanford, were denied a fair opportunity to be admitted to Yale and USC because of an alleged racketeering, and said their diplomas at Stanford would be devalued.

Singer and eight colleges have been appointed as defendants in the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, including the reimbursement of unsuccessful candidates for seven-year school application fees.

Another lawsuit filed by Joshua Toy and his mother was denied, despite a weighted average of 4.2. He is claiming $ 500 billion in damages from 45 defendants for defrauding and inflicting emotional pain on anyone whose "right to a fair chance" of entering college was stolen.

The defendants in this case include Singer and the accused parents, including the actor Felicity Huffman, Loughlin and Giannulli, of "Desperate Housewives," and William McGlashan, TPG Capital's equity partner, who was fired Thursday by the firm.

"These clbad actions are opportunistic creatures of lawyers trying to get a windfall," Singer's lawyer Donald Heller said in a phone interview.

Counsel for the other complainants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both lawsuits were filed in California. More lawsuits are likely.

Prosecutors said Singer had used his Edge College & Career Network and an affiliated non-profit organization to help future students cheat on university admission tests and bribe coaches to strengthen their sports skills.

The Stanford case is remarkable because it is one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the country, having admitted only 4.3% of its candidates last year.

But Olsen and Woods said their degrees "are not worth as much now," as potential employers might wonder if they were admitted on merit or through bribes by parents.

A Stanford spokesman said the university was reviewing the lawsuit.

Council that led to the discovery of a fraud

The original advice that led to the discovery of the college scandal arose from a non-securities fraud investigation against Morrie Tobin, a Los Angeles resident who allegedly participated in stock market maneuvers. said Thursday a person familiar with the matter. .

Tobin, who pleaded guilty on February 27 to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud, told authorities that a female football coach at Yale University had asked for a bribe in exchange for help given to his daughter to enter the Ivy League school, said the person.

Rudy Meredith, the former coach, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges.

After receiving the tip, the FBI secretly recorded a meeting between Meredith and Tobin, during which he asked for $ 450,000 in exchange for his recruitment for a spot on the football team, depending on the person and the court archives.

At the meeting, Meredith accepted $ 2,000 in cash as a partial payment, according to the billing documents.

Brian Kelly, Tobin's lawyer, declined to comment. Meredith's lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

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