BOSTON: The architect of the largest U.S. college admissions fraud scheme ever uncovered was sentenced on Wednesday to 3-1/2 years in prison for helping wealthy parents secure the admission of their children to elite universities through cheating and bribery.
The sentence imposed on former college admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer by U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel in Boston marked the longest issued to any of the dozens of people charged in the sprawling "Operation Varsity Blues" investigation.
Singer, 62, admitted in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and funneling money from wealthy parents to corrupt university coaches to secure the admission of their children as fake athletic recruits.
The years-long investigation into the scheme exposed inequalities in higher education and resulted in the conviction of more than 50 people, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, two of the many wealthy parents Singer counted as clients.
"It was a scheme that was breathtaking in its scale and audacity," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank said in court. "It has literally become the stuff of books and made-for-TV movies."
Overall, Singer paid out more than $7 million to bribe coaches and administrators at schools including Georgetown University, the University of Southern California, Yale University and Stanford University.
Singer took in more than $25 million from his clients while running a California-based college admissions counseling service called The Key and a related charity and kept $15 million for his own benefit, prosecutors said.
Zobel ordered him to turn over about $19 million in forfeited assets, money and restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for his failure to pay taxes on the proceeds of his illegal scheme.
Frank argued that Singer deserved an even longer prison sentence of six years, but Zobel questioned whether that request took into account his extensive cooperation with authorities, which helped them unravel his fraud and bring the cases they filed.
Prosecutors acknowledge that Singer's decision in 2018 to cooperate and allow the FBI to record calls he placed to clients allowed them to prosecute dozens of celebrities, businesspeople and other parents as well as coaches and associates of Singer's.
Frank, though, said his cooperation was also "problematic," as he also tried to obstruct it, tipping off six individuals to ensure they avoided incriminating themselves. Prosecutors decided against calling Singer at two trials.
Two wealthy businessmen were convicted in one trial and are appealing, while a judge recently ordered a new trial for a University of Southern California water polo coach, Jovan Vavic, who was convicted of taking bribes.
But while defense lawyer Candice Fields said Singer deserved "greater credit for his cooperation than the government concedes," Zobel said there was still "no doubt" prison was warranted given the size of the fraud.
"It was a serious business alright, with huge amounts of money, large amounts of dishonesty by various parties, not just you," Zobel told Singer.
Singer, who now lives in a Florida trailer park, in a court filing said that he lost everything as a result of the scheme. Appearing in court, he apologized to his family, students and the schools to which he had caused "great embarrassment."
"I lost my ethical values and have so much regret," he said. "To be frank, I am ashamed of myself."
U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins told reporters that while the cases had resulted in widespread reforms in higher education, families were right to be angry about how the admissions system had been corrupted.
"I was never foolish enough to believe it was a meritocracy," Rollins said. "But I had no idea how corrupt and infected the college admissions process was until this case exposed anything."
Reuters
Thu Jan 05 2023
![US college scam mastermind gets longest 'Varsity Blues' probe sentence US college scam mastermind gets longest 'Varsity Blues' probe sentence](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-01/51672905057_BOSTON.jpg)
William "Rick" Singer arrives for his sentencing hearing at the federal courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., January 4, 2023. - REUTERS
![Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-12/41702437730_maut.jpg)
Mayat hampir reput dijumpai di rumah usang
Mayat hampir reput ditemui di sebuah rumah usang di Kesang Laut, berdekatan pusat timbang Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) pada Ahad.
Wanita dakwa dituduh Rafizi fail saman
Seorang wanita memfailkan saman terhadap Menteri Ekonomi, Rafizi Ramli bagi menuntut permohonan maaf secara terbuka berhubung dakwaan bahawa wanita berkenaan ialah isteri kepada bekas menteri yang dikaitkan dengan isu kapal tempur pesisir (LCS).
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
Bagaimanapun, Rafizi bergantung kepada pembelaan justifikasi berkata bersedia membuktikan kenyataan di mahkamah termasuk perlindungan bersyarat dan ulasan yang saksama terhadap saman fitnah yang difailkan oleh Zainab Mohd Salleh.
![Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721011336_PerikatanNasional.jpg)
Ahli Parlimen PN pakai reben putih di lengan tak langgar peraturan - Timbalan Speaker
Jelas Timbalan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat itu, pendirian tersebut adalah keputusannya dan ia tidak dibuat oleh Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
![Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721104956_JDVance.jpg)
Trump umum Senator JD Vance sebagai calon Naib Presidennya
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat Donald Trump mengumumkan Senator Ohio JD Vance akan menjadi calon Naib Presidennya dalam pilihan raya 2024.
AWANI Ringkas: Pan Gon bakal umum letak jawatan hari ini?
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
![iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721103714_iOS.jpg)
iOS 18 tampil ciri kembalikan gambar, video yang hilang atau rosak
Pada iOS 18, iPadOS 18 dan macOS Sequoia, Apple memperkenalkan ciri baharu yang membolehkan data yang hilang ini dikembalikan.
[TERKINI] Suspek kes pempengaruh Esha mengaku bersalah
Seorang pemandu lori berusia 43 tahun mengaku bersalah membuat kenyataan menyinggung perasaan terhadap mendiang empengaruh media sosial, A Rajeswary atau Esha di TikTok.
Projek HSR Jakarta-Bandung rekod 4 juta penumpang
Projek Kereta Api Laju (HSR) Jakarta-Bandung yang dikenali sebagai Whoosh membawa empat juta penumpang sejak ia beroperasi secara komersial pada 17 Oktober, tahun lalu.
Gaza perlukan 15 tahun bersih runtuhan akibat perang Israel
Agensi Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) bagi Pelarian Palestin (UNRWA) maklumkan Kerja-kerja pembersihan Semenanjung Gaza daripada runtuhan akibat serangan maut berterusan Israel akan mengambil masa kira-kira 15 tahun.
![LHDN berjaya kutip RM512.6 juta melalui PKPS 2.0 - Amir Hamzah LHDN berjaya kutip RM512.6 juta melalui PKPS 2.0 - Amir Hamzah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61719994976_TBAMIRHAMZAHjpg.jpg)
LHDN berjaya kutip RM512.6 juta melalui PKPS 2.0 - Amir Hamzah
LHDN telah mengutip RM512.6 juta daripada keseluruhan taksiran cukai berjumlah RM1.29 billion sepanjang tempoh PKPS 2.0.