Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal that federal prosecutors say was “impressive in its audacity and the levels of deception involved,” was sentenced Wednesday to three and a half years in prison. prison.
It is the longest sentence in the scandal, but less than the six years requested by prosecutors.
Singer, a 62-year-old businessman from Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
The scandal, which involved the likes of “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin and “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman, helped wealthy parents send their often undeserving children to some of the most selective schools in the world. country with bogus test scores and athletic credentials.
“It was a scheme that was impressive in its scale and its audacity. It has literally become the stuff of books and TV movies,” Assistant US Attorney Stephen Frank told the judge Wednesday.
FORMER YALE FOOTBALL COACH INVOLVED IN COLLEGE ADMISSION SCANDAL IS SENTENCED TO 5 MONTHS DESPITE ‘RELIABLE’ COOPERATION
Rick Singer, the founder of the Edge College & Career Network, is seen here in March 2019 leaving federal court in Boston after he pleaded guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
The singer apologized.
“My moral compass was distorted by the lessons my father taught me about competition,” he said. “I accepted his belief that embellishing or even lying to win was acceptable as long as there was a win. I should have thought better of it.”
Before the sentencing, federal prosecutors were pushing for Singer to spend six years behind bars, followed by 36 months of supervised release. They also wanted the judge to order “restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $10,668,841, forfeiture of specified assets with a value greater than $5.3 million, and a money forfeiture judgment in the amount of approximately $3.4 million.”
They described Singer as 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.
“He found demand among his wealthy and overprivileged clients and helped fuel it by convincing them that their children would not be admitted to the college of their choice without using his illicit services,” prosecutors wrote. “Similarly, he established a network of corrupt test proctors and administrators who were willing to allow cheating to supplement their income, and college athletic trainers and administrators who were willing to sell their recruiting positions to bolster their fundraising efforts.” , their wages, or both.
“All of these players were integral to the success of the scheme,” they added, “but without Singer, the scheme would never have happened.”
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Lori Loughlin appears in court in Boston in September 2019 over the college admissions scandal. On the right, Felicity Huffman leaves her sentence in the college admissions scam case dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.”
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Singer secretly began cooperating with investigators and worked with the FBI to record hundreds of phone calls and meetings before dozens of parents and sports coaches were arrested in March 2019. More than 50 people were ultimately convicted in the case that authorities called Operation Varsity Blues.
In a letter to the judge, Singer blamed his actions on his “win at all costs” attitude, which he said was caused in part by repressed childhood trauma. His lawyer had requested three years of probation or, if the judge deems it necessary, six months behind bars.
“By ignoring what was morally, ethically, and legally correct in favor of winning what I perceived to be the college admissions ‘game,’ I lost everything,” Singer wrote.
Authorities uncovered the scandal after an executive under investigation for an unrelated securities fraud scheme told investigators that a Yale football coach had offered to help his daughter get into the school in exchange for money in cash. The Yale coach brought Singer to authorities, whose cooperation undid the sprawling scheme.
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Rick Singer works out on a Peloton bike while being interviewed by the Bay Area News Group at his home on the Isle of Palms mobile home park in Saint Petersburg, Florida on June 23, 2022.
(Julia Prodis Sulek/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images))
For years, Singer paid entrance exam administrators or proctors to inflate students’ test scores and bribed sports coaches to appoint applicants as recruits to sports they sometimes didn’t even play, seeking increase their chances of getting into school. Singer received more than $25 million from her clients, paid bribes totaling more than $7 million and used more than $15 million of her clients’ money for her own gain, according to prosecutors.
The harshest punishment so far in connection with the scandal went to former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who received two and a half years in prison for pocketing more than $3 million in bribes.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
