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LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors are suing a new wave of parents in college fraud scandals, sparking a wave of fear among Southern California elites and sparking speculation that a leader or a well-placed celebrity might be the next to be charged.
Prosecutors have informed some of the parents – the exact number is unclear – that they are currently under investigation as part of the largest college entrance survey in the country, according to four lawyers . During a trip to Los Angeles in April, the senior prosecutor spoke with the lawyers of at least two of these parents.
At the same time, defense lawyers say that a large number of parents are afraid of being targeted themselves and are trying to recruit lawyers and decide what to do. And even with these new lines of investigation in progress, prosecutors said they sent targeted letters to three students, citing the possibility that they could face criminal charges and worsening their family's fears.
William Singer, a university consultant at the center of the program, was based in Newport Beach and many of his clients were located in the Los Angeles area. Some of these clients are now fighting a secret and annoying wait, while their parents are openly avenging themselves on the fact that cheaters get their due or whisper about which high school students might have benefited from a shady help.
"For many of these people, it's the only thing they can think of," said a Los Angeles defense lawyer, whose firm represents several non-indicted relatives, some of whom have been in contact with the government. He declined to be named, citing concerns about how this could affect his company's customers.
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He added that these clients had witnessed the public shame of the 33 parents already charged. They fear being exposed to links with Mr. Singer themselves and being caught, like parents already charged, with recorded phone conversations about their children and their prospects for higher education.
This story is based on interviews with seven defense lawyers and more than a dozen parents from private schools in Los Angeles, where families were involved in the scandal.
Christina Sterling, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts District Attorney's Office, who brought the case, declined to answer specific questions about the upcoming charges, but said, "I can confirm that the & # 39; The investigation remains active, including potentially charging additional defendants. "
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Prosecutors acknowledged that they were pursuing new targets, writing in a recent court case that it was important to limit the release of discovery materials because they would include "information about uncharged co-conspirators and survey targets that have not yet been publicly indicted. "
In a federal courtroom in Boston on Monday, senior prosecutor Eric S. Rosen, an associate attorney in the United States, hinted that more students could have been admitted to the United States. as athletes recruited on the basis of manufactured qualifications than what is publicly known until now.
He also referred to evidence that other families – without charge at this stage – had initially pursued their children's admission regime before giving in, stating: "Many children or parents who at first conspired with Singer and then removed for a variety of reasons. "
Among the parents, coaches and other people already charged in the case, 20 people, including the actress Felicity Huffman, pleaded guilty or agreed to do so. Mr. Singer, who cooperated with the government in his investigation, pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges. Thirty other people, including actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded not guilty.
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The government does not know for now how many additional parents have recently learned that they are under investigation, but some of them are considering pleading guilty, while that others think that they have not done anything illegal, according to two defense lawyers representing some of them.
Among a contingent of white-collar defense lawyers in Los Angeles and Boston, everyone seems to already have a client or plans to take it. Lawyers who are new to the case – whose clients have not been charged but are waiting and are worried – are calling on their colleagues already immersed in this case to get their guidance, their assessment of Rosen and other basic information , such as type of plea offers that the government has offered and if the defendants have yet received the discovery.
Prosecution Investigations Against New Parents Have Already Exceeded Telephone Calls and Targeted Letters: Subpoenas for Bank Statements, Accounting Information and Telephone Statements, Two Defense Lawyers Say representing families now targeted.
Meanwhile, there is a different group of parents in southern California – people who have hired Mr. Singer but have not heard from the prosecutors – who are concerned enough to have hired lawyers anyway. Many of them question the opportunity to volunteer with the authorities, in the hope of indulgent treatment, or to remain discreet and hope for it. that their situation is not noticed.
Although three students have received letters from prosecutors, many others have also hired lawyers to deal with a separate problem: the potential discipline of their schools.
In the United States, about two dozen students were informed that their admission was under investigation by the Office of Judicial Affairs. In recent weeks, student attorneys have visited the campus almost daily to meet with university officials. Once the investigation is completed, the officials will determine whether the students will be subject to sanctions that may go as far as expulsion.
Adding a sense of confusion and worry to families related to the case is a lingering uncertainty as to why some people have been charged and others not. Two students linked to the scandal have already been removed from their colleges, although neither they nor their parents have been charged. Yale has canceled the admission of Sherry Guo, a 21-year-old freshman whose parents paid Mr. Singer $ 1.2 million as part of his application. Stanford canceled the admission of a non-public student who was working with Mr. Singer and whose application, according to prosecutors, contained fabricated identification information.
In the exclusive private schools in Los Angeles, the case has changed the atmosphere in recent weeks, while seniors received notifications of acceptance of their studies.
Even before the announcement of the charges, parents said in schools, people seemed to be silent about the steps they were taking to increase the chances of their children, that it 's safe. act to hire tutors preparing tests or call in contacts at universities. Now, many speculated about the families who hired Mr. Singer and how long they had been.
The mother of a young student in a school where some families had hired Mr. Singer said that this whole episode left her skeptical about some of the college students' acceptances. The mother refused to be named, fearing to damage the reputation of her school.
"If their parents are friends with some of the people who have been charged, you start asking yourself," Huh, did they do anything? "She said," It's terrible to cast doubt on the real achievements of these children, but you wonder, "Who cheated?"
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