Celebrity Parents Who Bribed To Secure Admissions For Their Children Into Ivy League Universities Exposed

United States federal prosecutors have uncovered admissions schemes scam featuring wealthy parents who have bribed their children’s way into securing admissions into the country’s most selective universities, the IVY Leagues. Hollywood actresses like Lori Anne Loughlin, 54, and Felicity Kendall Huffman, 56, have been indicted and are facing jail time.

At its core is the CEO of a coaching company designed to help children secure admission into the world’s choice universities. William Ricky Singer and his company, The Key allegedly helped wealthy students score better on the ACTs or SATs by helping them cheat on exams.

It entailed cheat on standardized tests, and bribes to people who decide which students got admitted; all the while pretending that money exchanging hands was for charity.

Felicity Huffman was accused of paying $15,000 to Willain Singer’s fake charity to facilitate cheating for her daughter on the SATs while Loughlin and her husband, agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the University of Southern California crew team.

And their daughters were recruited as coxswains even though they did not row competitively or otherwise participate in crew. They had allegedly sent Singer photos of each of their daughters on an ergometer, the rowing machine.

Singer allegedly also bribed college coaches and athletic officials to say a prospective student should be accepted because the student was a recruit for their sports team. But Singer and the coaches knew that the student was not a competitive player, and that his or her athletic profile was fake.

During his hearing at a Boston federal court on Tuesday, Singer pleaded guilty to 4 charges and admitted the allegations were true.

He said:

“All of these things, and many more things, I did. I created a side door that would guarantee families would get in.”

Below are the findings about the disgraced CEO and the company responsible for the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice:

1. Singer tried to help ‘the wealthiest families’

The US attorney for Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling stated:

“Singer was paid about $25 million by parents to help their children get into colleges. He told one parent that he wanted to help the most privileged.”

He was quoted to have said:

“OK, so, who we are … what we do is we help the wealthiest families in the US get their kids into school.”

Even Singer’s company’s website touts the exclusive nature of its clients.

The website says:

“The Key’s clientele is all referral based; consequently, the quality of the service provided to many of the world’s most renown families and individuals has provided an incredible foundation for The Key to grow its offerings worldwide.”

Pathetically, Lelling revealed that the said scam has cost less privileged students an education of their dreams:

“For every student admitted through fraud, an honest, genuinely talented student was rejected.”

According to Lelling, a total of 50 people were charged in the case. Those arrested include two SAT/ACT administrators, one exam proctor, nine coaches at elite schools, one college administrator and 33 parents. Parents who hired Singer as part of the scheme allegedly paid between $15,000 and $75,000 per test.

2. Singer has been profiting in education for decades

58-year old Singer’s company’s website introduced him as the Master coach…

“The CEO and Master Coach of the world’s largest private Life Coaching and College Counseling Company, The Key.”

“Over the past 20 years, Singer and his team helped more than 90,000 adults and also guided high school and college students seeking undergraduate or graduate degrees.”

The website added that Singer also co-founded a profitable online high school.

“In 2000, Rick and three other educators created the first online high school, the University of Miami Online High School in which Rick and his team created a student population of over 18,000 students annually paying over $15,000 per year to attend until Kaplan College Preparatory purchased the rights.”
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3. He’s a veteran call center executive

According to The Key, Singer’s career includes positions such as:

— Senior executive at The Money Store/First Union Bank, running retail bank call centers;

— Executive vice president of the nation’s largest publicly traded call center company, West Corporation;

— CEO of one of India’s largest call center companies before selling it to ICICI Bank

4. He’s the author of a book called ‘Getting In’

Singer wrote the 2014 book, “Getting In” which is centered on “gaining admission to the college of your choice.”

The book stressed the importance of applicants developing a strong “personal brand.”

5. The Key is an international company

The Key is in 81 US cities and 5 foreign countries, “working one on one with students and parents on devising a game plan for life,” the website states. Coaching takes place either at a client’s home or office, or remotely by telephone or Skype.

Williams Rick Singer could spend the rest of his days behind bars.

Singer, on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to four charges: racketeering conspiracy, money laundering, tax conspiracy and obstruction of justice, and he could face up to 65 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $1.25 million fine and a $400 special assessment. Sentencing is scheduled for June 19, 2019.

Source: CNN