On March 12, news broke that celebrities were being charged in the biggest college cheating scam prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
Claims of a college admissions scam could send actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin to prison.
Williams Rick Singer and his company The Key allegedly helped rich students get better scores on the ACTs or SATs by helping them cheat during exams.
The CEO is accused of bribing athletic officials and college coaches to say a student should be accepted as the student was a recruit for their sports team even though he knew the student was not a competitive player.
Singer pleaded guilty to four charges during his hearing at a Boston federal court. He also admitted the allegations were true.
“All of these things, and many more things, I did,” he expressed. “I created a side door that would guarantee families would get in.”
He was paid about $25 million by parents to get their children into colleges, said the US attorney for Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling.
Prosecutors also said he told one parent he wanted to help the most privileged.
“OK, so, who we are … what we do is we help the wealthiest families in the US get their kids into school,” Singer said.
Even The Key’s website shows the nature of the company’s 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.”
Lelling also said the scam cost less privileged an education of their dreams. “For every student admitted through fraud, an honest, genuinely talented student was rejected.”
Singer told US District Judge Rya Zobel: “I am absolutely responsible for it. I put everything in place. I put all the people in place and made the payments directly.”
He revealed he facilitated 761 side doors to admission.
“They want guarantees, they want this thing done. They don’t want me messing around with this thing,” he said. “And so they want in at certain schools.”
Some parents spent between $200,000 and $6.5 million. Huffman and Loughlin were among 50 people charged in the scam.
The website says Singer is the ‘CEO and Master Coach of the world’s largest private Life Coaching and College Counseling Company, The Key.’
Singer could face up to 65 years behind bars, a $400 special assessment, $1.25 million fine, and 3 years of supervised release.
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