The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday revealed a sweeping bribery scheme that prosecutors say allowed wealthy parents to secure admission for their children into some of the nation’s most highly selective universities. In a 204-page affidavit, the FBI showed how William R. Singer, the alleged mastermind of the operation, helped applicants forge athletics credentials and cheat on entrance exams, often without their own knowledge.
For a scandal that involves two television stars, the Justice Department’s case reads at times like a Hollywood script. Here are a few of the most bizarre allegations, many of them drawn from wiretaps of the involved parties.
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The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday revealed a sweeping bribery scheme that prosecutors say allowed wealthy parents to secure admission for their children into some of the nation’s most highly selective universities. In a 204-page affidavit, the FBI showed how William R. Singer, the alleged mastermind of the operation, helped applicants forge athletics credentials and cheat on entrance exams, often without their own knowledge.
For a scandal that involves two television stars, the Justice Department’s case reads at times like a Hollywood script. Here are a few of the most bizarre allegations, many of them drawn from wiretaps of the involved parties.
Amazon.fraud
To get his son into the University of Southern California, a father purchased water-polo gear from amazon.com and had a graphic designer superimpose the student’s image on a photo of an indoor pool. When Singer said that the boy was “a little high out of the water — no one gets that high,” the father sent a more realistic image.
$160K? In Your Dreams
Michael Rivera, via Wikimedia Commons
Stanford is “not TJ Maxx,” the scheme’s mastermind scoffed.
When a parent asked if donating $160,000 to Stanford University’s sailing program would guarantee his daughter a spot, Singer scoffed. “This is not TJ Maxx or Marshalls,” he said.
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Fake Punt
Through the magic of Photoshop, Singer passed off a student as a kicker/punter to help him get into USC and Stanford. The student’s high school didn’t even have a football team. But his father said, “He does have really strong legs.” Signing on to the ruse, the parent said, “The way the world works these days is unbelievable.”
‘Top Drawer’ Recruit
To secure a slot at USC, a student was falsely described in her application as “co-captain of a Japanese national soccer team.” In a fake athletics profile, she was called a “TOP DRAWER ESTIMATED # 3 RECRUTING CLASS IN NATION.” She attended USC, but never joined the soccer team.
Tell Her, ‘Be Stupid’
Singer promised a parent “any test scores you would like to get on the SAT or ACT” for $75,000. The elaborate scheme required that the student demonstrate a learning disability, so it was important that she “be stupid” when she met with a psychologist, Singer told a parent. Given extra time on the entrance exam for that reason, the student could take it at one of Singer’s centers, where a third party would do the work. “She won’t even know that it happened,” Singer explained. “It will happen as though — she will think that she’s really super smart.”
Dozens of people, including famous actors, college coaches, and a university administrator, have been charged by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in an admissions-bribery scheme involving Yale, Stanford, and other elite institutions.
Felicity Huffman’s daughter secured 100-percent extended time for the SAT, which was critical to Singer’s scheme. But a problem cropped up when her daughter’s high-school counselor suggested that she take the test at her high school rather than at one of Singer’s centers. Explaining the situation to Singer in an email, Huffman, who is famous for her role on Desperate Housewives, wrote, “Ruh Ro! Looks like [my daughter’s high school] wants to provide own proctor.”
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Fine. Just Use Some Other Guy.
Laura Janke, a former assistant coach of women’s soccer at USC, created a fake athletic profile for a successful applicant. The profile, which falsely claimed he was an elite pole-vaulter, included a photo of someone pole-vaulting, but it wasn’t the applicant.
(Full) House of Cards
Mossimo Giannulli, a fashion designer and husband of Lori Loughlin, the actress known for her role on Full House, asked Singer if it was a bad idea to mention their daughter’s admission to USC to the athletics director at the time. Singer advised Giannulli to keep quiet, but quipped that the director “felt you were good for a million plus.” Giannulli responded: “HAH!”
Jack Stripling was a senior writer at The Chronicle, where he covered college leadership, particularly presidents and governing boards. Follow him on Twitter @jackstripling.
