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- William “Rick” Singer, the middleman in the “Varsity Blues” college bribery scandal, faced six years in prison.
- Singer’s lawyer had requested three years of probation or six months behind bars.
- Caught in the scandal were celebrities including Lori Loughlin, her husband Mossimo Giannulli, and Felicity Huffman.
BOSTON – The mastermind of a nationwide college admissions bribery scheme that ensnared celebrities, prominent businesspeople and other parents who used their wealth and privilege to buy their children’s way into top-tier schools was sentenced to 3½ years in prison Wednesday.
The punishment for William “Rick” Singer, 62, is the longest sentence handed down in the sprawling scandal that embarrassed some of the nation’s most prestigious universities and put a spotlight on the secretive admissions system already seen as rigged in favor of the rich.
Prosecutors had sought six years behind bars, noting Singer’s extensive cooperation that helped authorities unravel the entire scheme. Singer began secretly working with investigators in 2018 and recorded hundreds of phone calls and meetings that helped authorities build the case against dozens of parents, athletic coaches and others arrested in March 2019.
Those sent to prison for participating in the scheme include “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli, and “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman. Coaches from schools including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown University and the University of California, Los Angeles admitted to accepting bribes.
“It was a scheme that was breathtaking in its scale and its audacity. It has literally become the stuff of books and made-for-TV movies,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank told the judge Wednesday.
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Singer cooperated with, obstructed investigation
The prosecutor called Singer’s cooperation in the case “unparalleled” but said it was also problematic, noting that Singer admitted he obstructed the investigation by tipping off several of his clients who were under government scrutiny. Singer also was ordered to pay $10 million in restitution to the IRS.
Defense attorney Candice Fields said Singer took great personal risk by wearing a wire to record meetings and “did whatever was necessary” to assist the government in its investigation. Fields had requested three years of probation, or if the judge decided prison time was necessary, six months behind bars.
Singer apologized to his family, the schools he embarrassed in the public eye and others. He also promised to work every day of his life going forward to have a positive influence on people’s lives.
“My moral compass was warped by the lessons my father taught me about competition. I embraced his belief that embellishing or even lying to win was acceptable as long as there was victory. I should have known better,” he said.
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‘Corrupted, infected’ college admissions process
Federal prosecutor Rachel Rollins said during a press conference after the sentencing hearing that she stood by the office’s request for six years in prison, noting that Singer did receive more prison than other defendants sentenced in the case.
“I had absolutely no idea how corrupted and infected the admissions process was until this case exposed everything,” Rollins said. “Any parent or guardian who has ever experienced the college admissions process should be angry.”
Rollins also said the case would change how universities conducted their admissions process. She said she would argue the “accelerated push” of colleges adopting test-optional admissions policies was partially influenced by the Varsity Blues case.
Many colleges did drop testing requirements following the scandal, but they often cited the limited availability of testing centers because of the pandemic.
More:Colleges say SAT, ACT score optional during COVID-19, but families don’t believe them
Singer pleaded guilty in 2019 – on the same day the case became public – to charges including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Dozens of others ultimately pleaded guilty to charges, and two parents were convicted at trial.
Authorities in Boston began investigating the scheme after an executive under scrutiny for an unrelated securities fraud scheme told investigators that a Yale soccer coach had offered to help his daughter get into the school in exchange for cash. The Yale coach led authorities to Singer, whose cooperation unraveled the entire scheme.
For years, Singer paid off entrance exam administrators or proctors to inflate students’ test scores and bribed coaches to designate applicants as recruits in order to to boost their chances of getting into the school. Singer took in more than $25 million from his clients, paid bribes totaling more than $7 million, and used more than $15 million of his clients’ money for his own benefit, according to prosecutors.
‘Most massive fraud ever’ on higher education system
Coaches in such sports as soccer, sailing and tennis took bribes to pretend to recruit students as athletes, regardless of their ability. Fake sports profiles were made to make students look like stars in sports they sometimes didn’t even play. The bribes were typically funneled through Singer’s sham charity, allowing some parents to disguise the payments as charitable donations and deduct the payments from their federal income taxes.
“This defendant was responsible for the most massive fraud ever perpetuated on the higher education system in the United States,” prosecutor Frank told the judge Wednesday.
Before Singer, the toughest punishment had gone to former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who got 2½ years in prison for pocketing more than $3 million in bribes.
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Punishments for the parents have ranged from probation to 15 months behind bars, although the parent who received that prison sentence remains free while he appeals his conviction.
One parent, who wasn’t accused of working with Singer, was acquitted on all counts stemming from accusations that he bribed Ernst to get his daughter into the school. And a judge ordered a new trial for former University of Southern California water polo Jovan Vavic, who was convicted of accepting bribes.
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In a letter to the judge, Singer blamed his actions on his “winning at all costs” attitude, which he said was caused in part by suppressed childhood trauma. His lawyer is requesting three years of probation, or if the judge deems prison time necessary, six months behind bars.
“By ignoring what was morally, ethically, and legally right in favor of winning what I perceived was the college admissions ‘game,’ I have lost everything,” Singer wrote.
In a sentencing memo, Singer’s attorneys wrote about how he now lives in a trailer park in Florida and has been unable to find work given his role in the scandal. The lawyers also wrote that Singer, “continued to offer free counseling services (after disclosing his identity and status to parents) to students who, during COVID, lacked access to the guidance counseling through their regular schools.”
“He was the architect and mastermind of a criminal enterprise that massively corrupted the integrity of the college admissions process – which already favors those with wealth and privilege – to a degree never before seen in this country,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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