Revealing the tricks of the network to get into prestigious universities in the US

US prosecutors said the college admissions scam uncovered on March 12 was the largest education fraud they have ever prosecuted. Fifty people across six states were charged with millions of dollars in illegal money funneled into some of the best universities, according toCNN.

Basically, according to experts, this network operates based on three fairly simple paths: Cheating on standardized test scores; Bribing those responsible for deciding which students are selected and covering up the bribes under the guise of charity. The leader of the largest admissions fraud network in the US is William Rick Singer, founder of the college preparation company Edge College & Career Network.

"Singer essentially engaged in two types of fraud," said federal prosecutor Andrew Lelling. "One was to rig SAT or ACT scores, and the other was to use his connections with college coaches to bribe students into schools with fake athletic credentials."

The SAT and ACT are standardized aptitude tests widely used for college admissions in the US education system.

A total of 50 people have been charged in the case. Those arrested include two SAT/ACT administrators, a proctor, nine coaches at top universities, a college administrator and 33 parents.

Students who score high on standardized tests, such as the ACT or SAT, have a better chance of being accepted into prestigious universities. Knowing this, Singer finds ways to help his clients' children cheat to get the highest scores.

According to the indictment, Singer arranged for a third party, usually Mark Riddell, to secretly take the students’ exams or swap answers with Riddell’s own. To help Riddell take the exams without being detected, Singer bribed the proctors, prosecutors said.

Igor Dvorskiy, who oversaw the SAT and ACT exams in Los Angeles, and Lisa "Niki" Williams, who oversaw exams at several Houston public high schools, were both accused of accepting bribes to facilitate the exams for Riddell.

Parents who hired Singer to help their children cheat are said to have paid between $15,000 and $75,000 per test.

Felicity Huffman, a famous American actress, was accused of paying $15,000 to Singer under the guise of charity money so that Singer could help Huffman's daughter cheat on the SAT exam.

According to a witness, the person traveled from Tampa to a testing center in West Hollywood to administer the exam for Huffman's daughter, who scored 1,420, 400 points higher than the PSAT taken a year earlier.

College coaches do not directly decide on student selection, but they do have the power to recommend to the admissions office which promising athletes to choose for their school. American schools invest heavily in extracurricular activities and sports to build their reputation.

The second part of Singer’s scheme involved bribing coaches and athletic officials at universities, who in return would recommend certain students to admissions offices even if the students did not play sports or had fake athletic credentials.

"I bribed coaches to change the places. This happened very often," Singer testified in court.

Actress Lori Loughlin's cheating behavior is the clearest proof of the above trick.

Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California by making them members of the school's rowing team.

The two daughters were admitted despite never having rowed competitively. Loughlin and her husband sent Singer photos of their daughters on rowing machines. Singer then paid bribes to Donna Heinel, the University of Southern California's associate athletic director, who recruited students as talented athletes.

"I want to thank you for the wonderful work you did with our daughter. She was thrilled. Lori and I are very grateful for your efforts to reach this final result," Giannulli wrote in an email to Singer.

The University of Southern California has suspended Heinel amid allegations from prosecutors.

To disguise the payments from his clients, Singer disguised them as charitable donations to his own Global Key Fund (KWF). Money from KWF continued to be used to bribe coaches and sports officials.

"Singer's foundation was supposed to be a charity, but it was actually a front for Singer to launder money that parents paid him," prosecutor Lelling said.

Once the money is received, KWF will email the customer to thank them for their donation.

“Your generosity will help us advance our plans to educate and provide entrepreneurship programs for disadvantaged youth,” a letter read.

Evidence of the shell charity was documented in a recorded phone call between Giannulli and Singer on October 25, 2018.

Singer, acting at the direction of law enforcement officials, made it clear to Giannulli that the money they sent was actually to get their daughter into the University of Southern California, and Giannulli concurred.

Singer told Giannulli that the tax authorities were auditing his charity and they had to agree on what to say to investigators.

"I want to make sure our stories are the same... and the $400,000 you transferred to my foundation is to help solve the children's problems," Singer wrote.

“Perfect,” Giannulli replied.

Vu Hoang