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$25 Million Nationwide College Admissions Cheating Scam
#1
So, what we have here is some Holly Wood scumbags who think it's okay to buy their kid's acceptance into an ivy league university just because they consider themselves to be above the rest.

This shows the corruption of those in control of the universities to willingly be bribed and paid off with money, while other students have actually earned their right to be there by studying hard and making top grades in school.

If I was a student in one of these universities, I would be extremely upset.
How will people take those graduating from these schools seriously now? 
Will the public think they paid for that diploma?
How will they know who did, or didn't?
Who deserves the prestige of saying "I went to (insert institution name)", when you have parents paying the school off?
How will we know?



DARK TO LIGHT...
PHRASE THREE: JUSTICE    smallupset


Quote:Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin and a slew of chief executives are among 50 wealthy people charged in the largest college cheating scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, federal officials said Tuesday.


Those indicted in the investigation, dubbed "Varsity Blues," allegedly paid bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California, federal prosecutors said.

"This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth combined with fraud," Andrew Lelling, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said at a news conference.

[Image: felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin2-file-gty...x3_992.jpg]
Getty Images|REX via Shutterstock

Felicity Huffman in Beverly Hills on Feb 19, 2019 in Los Angeles. | Lori Loughlin,in Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 28, 2019.

"There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy and, I'll add, there will not be a separate criminal justice system either," Lelling said.

Ringleader to plead guilty
According to Lelling, the ringleader of the scam is William Singer, owner of a college counseling service called Key Worldwide Foundation, who accepted bribes totaling $25 million from parents between 2011 and 2018 "to guarantee their children's admission to elite schools."

Quote:

'"The parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege'


Singer is expected to plead guilty in a Boston federal court on Tuesday on charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice, Lelling said.

[Image: yale-campus-ap-jc-190213_hpMain_4x3_992.jpg]
Beth J. Harpaz/AP, FILE

Harkness Tower sits on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sept. 9, 2016.

Those charged in the probe include nine coaches at elite schools, two SAT and ACT exam administrators, one exam proctor, a college administrator and 33 parents, including Huffman and Loughlin.

Quote:

'There can be no separate college admissions system for the wealthy'


"The parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege," Lelling said. "They include, for example, the CEOs of private and public companies, successful securities and real estate investors, two well-known actresses, a famous fashion designer and the co-chairman of a global law firm."

Also named as defendants in the indictment are Robert Zangrillo, founder and CEO of the private investment firm Dragon Global; Bill Glashan, a businessman and international private equity investor; and Gordon Caplan, a New York attorney.

Fake athletic credentials
He said in many of the cases, Singer allegedly bribed the coaches, who "agreed to pretend that certain applicants were recruited competitive athletes when, in fact, the applicants were not."

Lelling said the coaches allegedly "knew the students' athletic credentials had been fabricated."
He said Singer allegedly worked with the parents to "fabricate profiles for their kids, including fake athletic credential and honors, or fake participation in elite club teams."

Singer allegedly even had parents stage photos or Photoshopped pictures of their children participating in sports.

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ABC News
PHOTO:Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts, speaks at a press conference on March 12, 2019.

Singer also arranged for a student to take the SAT and ACT exams individually with a proctor in Texas or California he had bribed, Lelling said.

In one case highlighted by federal prosecutors, the head women’s soccer coach at Yale University was paid $400,000 to accept a student even though the applicant did not play soccer. The parents of that student had paid Singer $1.2 million.
Other elite schools named in the scam were the University of Texas, UCLA and Wake Forest.

Joe Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office, said 300 special agents fanned out across the country early Tuesday and arrested 38 people. He said seven other suspects were working to surrender to authorities and one is being actively pursued.

Huffman was arrested at her home in Los Angeles, while Loughlin, who is in Canada, had yet to be taken into custody, sources told ABC News.


This is a big deal guys! Some of us suspected this was going on, but now we have proof, and these crooks are being brought to JUSTICE!  It's time to make all people equal, with the same equal opportunities in life... not just the rich!

This is just a fraction of the article. Read more here:  Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin among those charged in $25 million nationwide college admissions cheating scam
#2
Wonder if Obummer's girls were involved in this scandal?  We know Obummer's education was paid off by the Saudi Arabia Prince, so could it be that Sasha and Malia's acceptance was bought and paid for too?
This is getting more and more interesting.   tinybiggrin 

Gordon Ernst, former head coach at Georgetown - and the Obamas' tennis instructor - charged in connection to college-admissions bribery scheme

Quote:A former Georgetown University tennis coach who at one time was the instructor of First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters was among the 50 people indicted this morning in a sweeping college admissions scandal.

The bribery scheme, which allegedly also involved actresses Lori Laughlin and Felicity Huffman, entailed getting students admitted to some of the top schools in the country as recruited athletes - regardless of athletic ability - and helping those applicants cheat on their entrance exams.

Gordon Ernst, who until last year was employed as the head coach of men’s and women’s tennis at Georgetown, was named in the bombshell indictment, along with long-time Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith.

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Gordon Ernst, former head coach of men’s and women’s tennis at Georgetown - and Malia Obama's (right) ex-tennis instructor - has been charged in connection to a massive college-admissions bribery scheme 

[Image: 10896912-6800411-image-m-88_1552417123143.jpg]+13


William Rick Singer, who founded the college consulting business Edge College & Career Network, also known as The Key, has been identified as the alleged mastermind of the scheme

According to the unsealed indictment, between 2012 and 2018, during which time Ernst was the head coach of men's and women's tennis at Georgetown University, he received bribes totalling more than $2.7million, which was falsely labelled as 'consulting.'

In exchange for the payoffs, Ernst allegedly designated at least a dozen applicants as recruits for the Georgetown tennis team, including some who did not play competitively, in order to help them get into the university.

The money came from charitable accounts set up by the accused mastermind of the scheme, William Rick Singer, who founded the college consulting business Edge College & Career Network, also known as The Key, in Newport Beach, California.
Prosecutors said parents paid Singer about $25million to bribe coaches and administrators into pretending that their children were athletic recruits to guarantee their admission. 

In one instance, according to the documents, Ernst was allegedly paid $400,000 for getting the child of Singer's clients into Georgetown under the guise of tennis recruitment, even though the applicant did not play competitive tennis.
Between September 2015 and August 2016, Ernst allegedly received checks totalling $700,000.

Ernst worked at Georgetown for 12 years before resigning in June 2018. Two months later, he was named the University of Rhode Island’s women's tennis coach.

Sasha and Malia Obama's tennis instructor and the former Yale women's soccer coach are among those indicted in sprawling college bribery scheme

Another person I would like to know about is David Hogg. How the heck did he get into Harvard?! minusculethinking
#3
A tennis instructor and soccer coach...?!!! Jeez, it shows the wide range of 'The Haves' when looking
at bribery in the private education. It also shows the honourability of the schools involved.
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe. 
#4
Quote:Actress Lori Loughlin was taken into custody by the FBI Wednesday in Los Angeles after she, fellow movie star Felicity Huffman and 48 others were charged in a $25 million college admissions scam that has prompted repercussions from Hollywood to the boardrooms of major companies.

Loughlin is expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles later Wednesday to face fraud charges stemming from the nationwide investigation.
Loughlin, 54, flew to Los Angeles overnight from Canada, where she was filming a Hallmark movie, sources told ABC News.

A former cast member on the ABC sitcom "Full House," Loughlin and Oscar-nominated actress Huffman, 56, are among 33 parents charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in the nationwide scam to get their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

Read more:  Live Updates: Actress Lori Loughlin taken into custody in 'Varsity Blues' college admissions scam
#5
I cant help but think that this is been used to draw attention away form other horrors happing across the pond
#6
The ferreting-out of the crime continues...

Quote:20 Guilty Pleas, 30 Pending Cases: Here's Where The College Admissions Scandal Stands.

[Image: attachment.php?aid=5882]
U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces indictments in a sweeping college
admissions bribery scandal on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.


'On Monday, attorneys for 29 people accused of some involvement in the college admissions scheme
head to federal court for a status update. All of these accused are fighting the charges, while 20 others
have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
One couple charged in the case has filed a motion to dismiss the indictment altogether.

Here's where the cases stand, three months after a federal judge unsealed the indictments.

2 'side doors' into college
At the heart of the allegations is a college consultant named William "Rick" Singer.
He's pleaded guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. He created what he called a "side door" for
prospective students to get into college. One scheme involved cheating on or falsifying the ACT or SAT
exams, while the other involved falsely designating prospective students as recruits to college athletics.

In the testing scheme, Singer would arrange for a Harvard alumnus named Mark Riddell to proctor the exams
for his clients' children at testing centers in West Hollywood, California, or Houston. Riddell, who has pleaded
guilty, would either coach the students while they took the exams or correct their exams after completion.

For college athletes, Singer allegedly paid coaches to create fake athletic profiles for his clients' children and
to designate them as recruited athletes for a college team.

Parents have admitted to paying Singer's not-for-profit organization, the Key Worldwide Foundation, as little
as $15,000 or as much as $500,000 for Singer's services. One family reportedly paid $6.5 million.

20 people have pleaded guilty so far
The first sentencing in these cases is scheduled for next Wednesday, June 12, starting with the former Stanford
sailing coach John Vandemoer. Prosecutors have recommended an 18-month prison sentence.

Among those also facing prison time are Singer and Riddell, former Yale women's head soccer coach Rudolph
Meredith, former University of Southern California assistant women's soccer coach Laura Janke and former
University of Texas men's tennis head coach Michael Center. Fourteen parents are also facing prison time.

Most of the federal charges in these cases carry a maximum 20 years in prison.
For those who have reached plea agreements, prosecutors are recommending much shorter sentences -some for
as little as four months. Some defense attorneys are asking for no prison time.

So far, the ultimate how-the-mighty-have-fallen moment came last month in the case of Gordon Caplan.
He was co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the huge New York law firm founded by Wendell Willkie, the Republican
who ran for president against Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. Caplan pleaded guilty in May to bribing test administrators
to change his daughter's ACT scores. He was one of the few parents to speak outside court, saying he was deeply
ashamed.

"But I'm also sorry to all the other kids who are in the admissions process, and to all the parents that are helping them
and supporting them," he said. "I'm truly sorry." It was a stark contrast with the man who, according to the indictment,
said in a wiretapped phone conversation, "I'm not worried about the moral issue here."

30 cases still pending
There are 30 people who have pleaded not guilty. They include 19 parents, seven former coaches or athletic leaders,
two former employees of Singer's organizations and two test center administrators.

It'll be up to prosecutors to prove the cases. On Monday, attorneys for 29 of them will be in federal court for status hearings.
All the parents are facing conspiracy charges.

One of the most interesting defense arguments comes from two Palo Alto, California parents, Dr. Gregory Colburn and
his wife, Amy.

They argue the parents were not engaged in a conspiracy, citing a Supreme Court decision written by the late Antonin Scalia
which states that for a conspiracy to exist, the people on the rim of the conspiracy -that is the parents in this case -would have
had to know one another.

The Colburns' argument is that because most of the parents did not know the other parents, there was no conspiracy and,
therefore, no crime. They're asking the judge in their case to throw it out of court. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen told one
of the judges last month that he does not expect any of these cases will go to trial because he expects to reach plea
agreements with all the defendants.

Are more indictments likely?
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has said his prosecutors are still investigating, and he has not ruled out charging students as
well as parents. The two main people in the conspiracy -Singer and Riddell -as well as one of the coaches are cooperating
with prosecutors, which makes it possible more indictments could come...'
SOURCE:


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Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe. 
#7
Very little has changed over the years. The RC church had there own university's, if the church sent you there because you were a good believer it was sure you would get at least your MA. In the Roman days very rich people use to buy Roman nationality in order to get more power .
As always money talks and who you know gets you in
#8
I wonder how many went through before the scam was discovered?



Quote:Felicity Huffman handed jail time over college admissions scandal.

[Image: attachment.php?aid=6359]
Felicity Huffman arrives with her husband William H Macy at John Joseph Moakley
US Courthouse in Boston.

'US actress Felicity Huffman has been sentenced to 14 days in prison for her involvement in a
college admissions scandal. The Desperate Housewives star admitted to paying $15,000
(£11,500) to have her daughter's exam answers secretly corrected in 2017.

She must also do 250 hours of community service and pay a $30,000 fine.

Parents and athletic coaches were among the 50 people charged in the scheme, but none of the
children were indicted.

"I am deeply sorry to the students, parents, colleges and universities who have been impacted
by my actions," Huffman told the Boston court on Friday.
"I am sorry to my daughter, Sophia, my daughter, Georgia, and my husband, Bill.
I have betrayed them all."

Judge Indira Talwani said she believes Huffman has accepted full responsibility for her actions,
but "trying to be a good mother does not excuse" what she did.
She must report to prison in six weeks. Prosecutors had asked for a month in prison and a $20,000
fine.

The parents charged in the college scam investigation allegedly paid bribes, had exams altered, and
even had their children edited into stock photos to fake sporting talents on applications.
Prosecutors say they managed to fraudulently secure spots for the teenagers at elite US universities
including Yale, Georgetown and Stanford.

Huffman pleaded guilty to mail and honest services fraud in May. She is the first parent sentenced in
the scandal. Her legal team had asked for a year of probation in lieu of jail time, 250 hours of community
service and a $20,000 fine.

But prosecutors wrote in a memo last week that "neither probation nor home confinement (in a large home
in the Hollywood Hills with an infinity pool) would constitute meaningful punishment or deter others from
committing similar crimes"...'
BBC: (More in link)


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Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe. 
#9
@BIAD, I'm glad she got jail time. Just fining these elites would mean nothing to them. What's a few hundred thousand to them?

Two weeks in jail isn't enough either. She deserved at least a couple of months to give her time to think about her actions.  Even then, I bet they treat her like royalty in there.  Blah! Probably give her extra time out in the day room to watch The View and CNN, and slip a cell phone to her to call her buddies so she won't be lonely.

Ahhh... whatever.   smallnotamused
#10
Wow...! Talk about privilege!


Quote:Lori Loughlin hires 'prison expert' to teach her 'table manners and not to make eye contact so she
can keep a low profile' in case the actress is jailed for her role in the college admission scandal.

'Lori Loughlin has tapped on a 'prison expert' to tell her the do's and don't or life while incarcerated
- including not making unnecessary eye contact with other inmates.

[Image: attachment.php?aid=6937]

The embattled Fuller House actress is said to be preparing herself in case she does go to jail for
allegedly paying $500,000 to an admissions consultant so that her daughters could be recruited
by the University of Southern California, a source explained to People. 

'She has someone who is advising her what to do in case she loses her case and goes to prison,'
the source stated. 'The advisor is there to help her learn the ropes. That's not to be construed that
she thinks she's going to lose her case. Lori is a planner, and she is doing what she needs to do
for all contingencies.' 

Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, face up to 60 years in prison for making the moves
for their daughters - 20-year-old Olivia Jade Giannulli and 21-year-old Isabella Rose Giannulli.
According to the source, Loughlin does plan on distancing herself from Singer in her defense.

The couple has also been following other high-profile cases connected to the scandal - particularity
Felicity Huffman, who received 14 days in prison for her role. 'They realize that if they are convicted,
they'll have to serve time,' the source continued.

'And they're figuring out what that would look like, which includes hiring a consultant to explain prison
life to them.' The source added that the prison expert would doing their part in teaching Loughlin how
to be safe behind bars.  

'She needs to keep a low profile if she's incarcerated,' the source said. 'Obviously, she's going to stand
out, because of all the publicity and because she's a star. She can't do anything about that.
But she doesn't want to stand out because she's so green that she does the wrong things.' 

Loughlin is also looking to learn from the experience, with the source claiming that the actress is looking
to 'not only survive it, but flourish in it.' 'She is looking at this whole thing as a learning experience, and
this is one more thing that she's trying to learn,' stated the source.

The expert has been described as being someone privy to the differentiating cultures of prison and the
world outside.

'Table manners are different; social interactions are different,' the source said. 'Here on the
outside, eye contact is a good thing. You meet someone and you shake their hands and
stare them in the eyes. In prison, you might not do that. You don't want to challenge someone.'

'Prison is a very different world than Hollywood, and Lori is just trying to be prepared,' says the
source. 'She's preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best.'

Last month, a source close to the actress said she thought the money they allegedly paid via
Singer's nonprofit organization, Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF) was going directly towards
the California university.

'Lori was hoodwinked by Rick Singer. There's no other way to put it,' a source told People.
'She was convinced that she was making a donation, just like parents have been doing for
years.'

The Fuller House star and designer - who is stocked in Target - are charged with money
laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, honest services mail
and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. 

Approximately 53 people have been accused in Operation Varsity Blues and fellow actress
Felicity Huffman recently completed an 11-day stint in jail after she pleaded guilty to paying
$15,000 to get one of her daughters into college. 
Loughlin - one of 36 parents accused - maintains her innocence.

'She did not have any intent to do something illegal, and in fact she thought she was doing the
right thing,' the source continues. 'That's why she hasn't pleaded guilty; frankly, she believes
that she is innocent and that the evidence shown in court will prove that...'
Mail Online:

Maybe her husband should befriend a proctologist.
tinywhat


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