The big names in the scandal of corruption in universities

The Justice Department on Tuesday announced dozens of charges related to a major corruption project in the universities, involving big names ranging from Hollywood actresses to Wall Street and Silicon Valley leaders. The documents describe a program where wealthy parents pay a business to help their children cheat on university entrance exams or bribe sports recruiters. Several Division 1 sports coaches were among the witnesses who cooperated in the investigation.

Here are some of the most powerful people who would be involved.

The actress, best known for her role in ABC's "Desperate Housewives," allegedly participated in a scheme to make a false gift to a company claiming to "offer educational and personal enrichment programs to underprivileged youth."

In reality, society allowed participants' children to cheat with ACT or SAT, for example by falsely claiming that their children had learning difficulties to obtain special accommodations such as extended duration. Students could then take the exam "on two days instead of one and in an individualized setting".

When she administered the test, the company bribed the test administrators and hired a third party "to serve as the alleged supervisor of the examinations while providing students with the correct answers, or to review and correct student responses after the exam. . In many cases, the students who took the exams did not know that their parents had organized the fraud. "

The company then returned the "falsified exams" to the test companies.

According to the indictment, Huffman and her husband, actor William H. Macy, who was not charged on Tuesday, paid $ 15,000 to the charitable falsehood for allow their eldest daughter to cheat the SAT. They then started making arrangements for their youngest daughter "but finally decided not to do it."

The actress and fashion designer "Full House" allegedly participated in the scheme involving a false sports recruitment. According to the indictment, the couple paid $ 500,000 US for their two daughters to join the University of Southern California by designating them as "USC team recruits, although that they did not participate in the crew ".

In this context, the company created a fake profile of their younger daughter who "would present [her] falsely, as captain for the L.A. Marina Club team. The couple sent an "action photo" of her on an ergometer to give the impression that she was a rower.

Caplan, a private equity lawyer with New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, also reportedly took part in the cheating ploy by paying $ 75,000 to the company to help his daughter cheat with ACT.

Last year, American Lawyer magazine named it "Dealmaker of the Year".

The indictment alleges that the couple used the scheme "four times" to help their two daughters cheat on exams. They also participated in the athlete recruitment program, bribing the Georgetown University tennis coach and falsely describing their eldest daughter as a top tennis player.

In fact, the indictment notes that "at its best level, it appears to be ranked 207th in Northern California among girls under 12, with a total win / win record. defeat 2-8 ".

Manuel Henriquez is the founder and CEO of Hercules Capital, an investment company of Silicon Valley. According to Bloomberg, he would have earned about $ 8.2 million in 2017.

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