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(CNN) – Harvard University is investigating the head coach of fencing over allegations that he has carried out a real estate transaction involving the family of a former student and athlete-athlete, announced the school Thursday.
In 2016, coach Peter Brand sold his home in Needham, Massachusetts, almost twice as much as a tax document claimed to be worth. Harvard is currently conducting an independent review of this transaction.
Jie Zhao bought Brand's house for $ 989,500, according to the deed. At the time, he had a son in the Harvard fencing team and another in high school, the Boston Globe reported.
Jie Zhao bought Peter Brand's house in Needham for $ 989,500. (WBZ-TV)
However, a certificate of privilege indicates that the house was worth just under $ 550,000. Zhao sold the property about 17 months later, with a loss of more than $ 300,000.
Following the sale of his home in Needham, Brand purchased a condominium in Cambridge.
Documents obtained by CNN indicate that the Cambridge property was originally listed at $ 989,000, which is $ 500 less than what Zhao paid for the Brand's Needham home. The brand bought the Cambridge condo for about $ 300,000 more than the asking price.
Gary J. Vrotsos, the listing agent for the property in Cambridge, told CNN that it was not an unusual event. "When market players have bid on the asking price," said Vrotsos.
Brand was named head fencing head coach at Harvard in 1999 after a role at Brown University. As a teenager, he emigrated from Israel to the United States and trained the Harvard team to unprecedented success, according to the Harvard website.
"The rise of Harvard at the top of intercollegiate fencing has been a meteorite since Brand was at the helm of the program," reads his Harvard profile.
In interviews with the Boston Globe, Zhao denied anything unusual about his real estate purchase and insisted that he had bought it as a "gift". investment and favor of his friend the coach.
According to the Globe, Zhao has two sons, one who was admitted to Harvard as a fencer in 2017. The other son, also a fencer according to the Globe, graduated in 2018.
Zhao did not answer CNN's phone calls asking for a comment. Calls to Brand's phone numbers have not been placed and he has not responded to CNN's requests for comments via email.
Harvard said it was first informed of connection and real estate transactions by the Boston Globe reporting. In a letter to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Thursday, Dean Claudine Gay said, "We still do not know a lot", but this claim does not seem to be linked to the national scheme of admission fraud. in the Massachusetts Attorney Universities.
The scandal led to federal criminal charges against 50 people and left the nation stunned by the efforts of wealthy parents to bring their children to elite schools.
"No matter what we possibly learn about these allegations, the time has not come for us to be complacent," Gay said in a statement. "Where it is possible to clarify practices and strengthen procedures, we must act accordingly urgently. "
The-CNN-Wire
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