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Lori Loughlin, actress "Full House", appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday to face charges of involvement in a ploy in which dozens of wealthy parents are accused of stealing money. having paid their children to sneak into the prestigious American universities.
US Judge Steve Kim has ordered Loughlin, one of the world's entertainment and business world figures caught in the scandal, released from federal custody on $ 1 million bail. at the end of a brief hearing.
Douglas Hodge, the former leader One of the leaders of the investment company Pimco and another of the 33 parents accused of fraud worth $ 25 million appeared earlier in the day in a Boston court. A federal magistrate released him on bail of $ 500,000 from a federal magistrate who had rejected a federal prosecutor 's objection to Hodge retaining his pbadport.
The Los Angeles judge ruled that Loughlin could continue to travel to British Columbia for several of the productions she was working on. provided that she informs the US authorities in advance of each trip. But the TV star was ordered to surrender her pbadport in December
Loughlin and Hodge are among the 50 people accused of participating in a scam that led high school graduates into elite universities, particularly in Yale, Georgetown and Stanford. admission process. Prosecutors have described it as the biggest scandal of this type in the history of the United States.
Interim President of the University of Southern California, Wanda Austin, issued a statement that anyone involved in a candidacy for the current academic year would be denied admission while the students currently involved in this project will be examined on a case-by-case basis. USC announced on Tuesday that two employees – a deputy sports director and women's water polo coach – had been fired in connection with the scandal.
Another parent charged with the scheme, Manuel Henriquez, resigned as President and CEO of the financial firm Hercules Capital Inc.
Gordon Caplan, who, according to prosecutors, reportedly paid $ 75,000 last year to correct some of her daughter's bad answers to a college entrance exam, was laid off from her board co-chair position Willkie Farr & Gallagher Law Firm, said the company Wednesday.
MONTH OF WIRETAPS
The brain of the ploy, William "Rick" Singer, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of racketeering. Prosecutors at the US Attorney's Office in Boston have said his company, Edge College & Career Network, had earned $ 25 million since the start of the fraud in 2011, offering what he had promised was a "guarantee" d & # 39; admission.
After months of calls from him. Last September, Singer finally cooperated with the investigators, helping them to secretly record the incriminating conversations he had with their parents.
The elaborate scheme consisted of bribing administrators of college entrance tests to allow a child to correct his wrong answers or to someone else to do the test for them. Singer has also arranged for parents to buy from college coaches the testimony of a child gifted for the sport.
In some, but not all, cases, Singer was badured that the child was unaware of cheating.
"They feel good about themselves," he told Caplan in a phone call, according to the criminal complaint. "And they just do not know that they did not even get the score they thought they had."
In some cases, Singer even helped a doctor take pictures so that his child would look sporty.
Parents paid their contributions to According to prosecutors, a fake charity, Singer, was also allowed to carry out a fraudulent tax deduction. The fake charity organization, Key Worldwide Foundation, was supposed to help provide education for "disadvantaged students".
It was unclear how many children would benefit from the help and the investigators said that more parents and coaches could still be charged. In telephone conversations intercepted by investigators, Singer boasts of having helped hundreds of students, while he rebadures parents, he has helped more than 20 or 30 others to cheat over the course of time. last years.
] Loughlin is accused of paying $ 500,000 to the singer to help her two daughters make their way to USC by bribing a sports official at school to claim that the girls were rowers gifted. Her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, is also charged with fraud and appeared in court Tuesday in Los Angeles before being released on bail of $ 1 million.
One of the girls, Olivia Giannulli, has become a prominent "influent". social media under the name "Olivia Jade."
"Officially, studying at the university!" she subtitled a photo she posted in September on Instagram and showed it in her USC dormitory decorated with items ordered from online retailer Amazon.com Inc., who was paying her for this job.
Other notable parents charged by the United States of Boston. the prosecutor's office includes actress Felicity Huffman, who starred in "Desperate Housewives"; and Bill McGlashan Jr., who ran the private equity arm TPU Capital, a private equity firm, which put him on indefinite leave after being indicted.
Huffman was one of the defendants who appeared in court on Tuesday before being released on bail.
Representatives of the accused parents declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries. Several of the coaches accused of accepting bribes were dismissed, put on leave or resigned.
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