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US universities and companies quickly distanced themselves from employees involved in a university admission program, many of whom were coaches accused of making bribes. wine and other notorious parents accused of having pushed their children to the best schools by presenting them as recruited athletes.
Actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman topped the list, but the other accused parents included prominent figures in the fields of law, finance, fashion, manufacturing, etc. who could afford a price. as high.
At least nine sports coaches and 33 parents were among the accused.
Some parents have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, up to 6.5 million US dollars, to guarantee the admission of their children, officials said.
"Every student deserves to be considered on his merits when he is applying to the university, and it is shameful to see someone breaking the law to give his children an edge over others," he said. said US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, in a statement (New Zealand time).
"The department is studying this issue closely and is looking into whether any of our regulations has been broken."
READ MORE:
* Actress Felicity Huffman wakes up in front of FBI agents with guns unsheathed at her home
* Full House star Lori Loughlin arrested in academic fraud scandal
* Parents photoshopped children to create "sports profiles"
* Felicity Huffman released on bail for a $ 365,000 college corruption project
* Wealthy American parents are accused of swindling to bring children to the best schools
During a brief court appearance on Thursday, a judge allowed Loughlin's release on $ 1 million bail and a trip to the Vancouver, Canada area, but also imposed strict restrictions on their displacement.
Judge Steven Kim said that Loughlin had to return his pbadport in December, inform the court of his plans for travel and provide proof of where he was if asked.
Loughlin's lawyer, Perry Viscounty, declined to comment in court. A day earlier, her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, was released under similar conditions.
Although prosecutors agreed, trial judge Steve Kim first stated that it was "uncomfortable" to let Laughlin retain his pbadport and stand return to Canada, but yielded to the request after questioning Viscounty about the projects and signed the agreement.
Gordon Caplan of Greenwich, Connecticut, co-chair of the New York-based law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, was among the other defendants. Caplan "will not have more management responsibilities in the company," the company said in a statement.
Caplan is accused of having paid $ 75,000 for a test supervisor to correct the ACT test responses of his daughter after pbading it.
Hercules, Hercules Capital, of Palo Alto, Calif., Has announced the replacement of its leader, Manuel Henriquez, who was arrested in New York and released on bail of $ 500,000. Henriquez will still occupy a seat on the board of directors and act as an adviser, Hercules said.
Henriquez and his wife, Elizabeth, of Atherton, Calif., Have been charged with taking part in the program four times for their two daughters.
They have also been accused of conspiring to bribe Gordon Ernst, former head coach of tennis at Georgetown University, to nominate their eldest daughter as a tennis rookie to facilitate his admission and re-election. have made a $ 400,000 contribution to a charitable organization for it to be accepted at the school.
Georgetown said it had not resulted since December 2017 after an investigation revealed that it had violated the rules of admission to the university. The University of Rhode Island has stated that Ernst, who was hired as a tennis coach in August, was put on administrative leave.
During a hearing held Tuesday in Maryland, a federal magistrate released Ernst on bail of $ 200,000.
His lawyer, Michael CitaraManis, said his client did not represent a risk of flight.
Ernst had planned to attend a job interview in Toronto soon, he said, "although I do not know the consequences of this procedure."
Homayoun Zadeh, badociate professor of dentistry at the University of Southern California, was also among the parents charged.
His status at the USC was not clear; his teacher profile was removed from a website and the phone messages requesting comments were not sent back.
Mark Riddell, director of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Founded by famed tennis coach Nick Bollettieri and presents himself as the world's largest sports academy, was suspended after being charged with "stalking". have pbaded the admission tests. Riddell did not answer phone calls in search of comments.
Many coaches were quickly fired or suspended by the colleges. Prosecutors said the colleges themselves are not the focus of the ongoing investigation.
Stanford's sailing coach, John Vandemoer, was fired after being accused of accepting $ 270,000 in contributions to the program for agreeing to recommend the admission of two potential students. None of the students came to Stanford, the school said.
USC fired Associate Sports Director Donna Heinel and water polo coach Jovan Vavic. Court documents indicate that Vavic had received $ 250,000 and appointed two students recruited from his team to facilitate their admission.
He was released on bail. Vavic's lawyer asked a comment to his lawyer.
The University of Texas men's tennis coach, Michael Center, was fired one day after federal officials unveiled documents accusing the center of taking up to $ 100,000 from the United States. United to engage a student at school by presenting him as a tennis rookie.
Once enrolled, the student has never played tennis. The center's lawyer said the coach denies the allegations.
In Wake Forest, President Nathan Hatch said that volleyball coach Bill Ferguson, accused of pbadive bribery, had been suspended.
The university's external lawyer is currently conducting an internal review, Hatch said.
Federal prosecutors said the parents had paid millions of dollars to consultant William "Rick" Singer, an admissions consultant, to allow their kids to enter the university.
Some of the winnings have been paid to coaches and administrators to falsely give their kids the appearance of star athletes. Singer has also hired players to take college entrance exams and paid insiders at screening centers to correct student responses, authorities said.
Singer, founder of the Edge College & Career Network in Newport Beach, Calif., Pleaded guilty.
Associated Press editors Alanna Durkin Richer and Collin Binkley in Boston contributed to this report. Michael Balsamo in Washington; Jim Mustian in New York; and Michael Kunzelman in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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