At least 40, including two actresses, have been indicted in a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal, according to court docs.
The accused allegedly tried to get students into high-profile colleges as recruited athletes, regardless of athletic ability.
Some indicted include college coaches; however, there's no indication the schools were involved
At least 40 people, including two Hollywood actresses, have been indicted by the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Boston in a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal, NBC News reported, citing court documents.
The documents, which were unsealed Tuesday morning, allege that the accused aimed to facilitate students getting into high-profile D-1 schools, including Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, Yale, University of Texas, University of San Diego, University of Southern California and Wake Forest as recruited athletes regardless of their athletic ability.
Some of those who were indicted included college coaches but there's no indication the schools were involved, according to NBC News.
Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among the two of more than 40 charged in connection with the scheme, according to court documents.
One of the unsealed court documents included indictments against former Yale University women's soccer coach Rudolph "Rudy" Meredith, who has been charged with two counts of wire fraud.
Prosecutors allege that Meredith conspired with William Rick Singer, the owner of Edge College & Career Network, which was also known as "The Key," to take bribes from the parents of college hopefuls.
In one case, Meredith and Singer worked together to have a Yale applicant, whom did not have a background in competitive soccer, to have an athletic "profiles" that allegedly described her as a "co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California."
Another example of the rich creating an unfair process because of their money. I get The rich and powerful like being rich and powerful. But, come on man let’s play fair in st least a few places in society. [Reply]
I didn't realize usc was that hard to get into. Thought all you had to do was cross the border and then say Quiero ir a la USC gratis. And poof college all paid for courtesy of the fine folks in Cali. [Reply]
I've been amused that a common response has been: Why didn't they just exert their influence the more socially-acceptable way and cut out the (illegal) middle man?
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
Another example of the rich creating an unfair process because of their money. I get The rich and powerful like being rich and powerful. But, come on man let’s play fair in st least a few places in society.
The super rich can just pay a few $M for a new building to get their kid in. The merely wealthy apparently have to resort to this stuff.
I read somewhere that Felicity Huffman paid a whopping $15k for this fixer's services. A lot less than the $6M I saw from some parents when the story first broke. Although maybe someone paid that much. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pape:
she paid 500k to get a couple brats into USC? wtf
I didn't realize usc was that hard to get into. Thought all you had to do was cross the border and then say Quiero ir a la USC gratis. And poof college all paid for courtesy of the fine folks in Cali.
USC and UCLA pretty much need a 4.0+, lights-out tests scores and extra-curriculars out the wazoo these days. Or be a good athlete. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
I've been amused that a common response has been: Why didn't they just exert their influence the more socially-acceptable way and cut out the (illegal) middle man?
Honestly, that's just as sad.
The common good is served if two well-qualified students are attracted to an institution if the cost is one dipshit getting in because their rich family is fully funding all three students. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower:
The common good is served if two well-qualified students are attracted to an institution if the cost is one dipshit getting in because their rich family is fully funding all three students.
Or on the flip side some deserving kid doesn't get in because a rich parent bought that spot. [Reply]
Originally Posted by suzzer99:
Or on the flip side some deserving kid doesn't get in because a rich parent bought that spot.
Some deserving BMX freestyler gets shunned because the rich kid hired someone to create a fake profile on the internet where he took his bike to prom and found true love. [Reply]
Originally Posted by :
In one example detailed in an indictment, the parents of a student applying to Yale paid Mr. Singer $1.2 million to help her get admitted. The student, who did not play soccer, was described as the co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in Southern California in order to be recruited for the Yale women’s soccer team. The coach of the Yale soccer team was bribed at least $400,000 to recruit the student.
“This girl will be a midfielder and attending Yale so she has to be very good,” Mr. Singer wrote in an email detailing instructions, adding that he would need “a soccer pic probably Asian girl.”
After the profile was created, Mr. Singer sent the fake profile to Rudolph Meredith, the head coach of the women’s soccer team at Yale, who then designated her as a recruit, even though he knew the student did not play competitive soccer, according to the complaint.
$1.2M sure seems like enough to legally bribe your way in. I guess the price to get a kid into Yale much be a lot higher than that. [Reply]
