American Majors: How the Bribery System Worked in US Elite Universities

Families of Hollywood stars, financiers, businessmen and other wealthy Americans paid millions of dollars for guaranteed admission of children to elite US universities, including the best - Yale, Stanford and Georgetown universities. Details of the loudest scandal in the American system of higher education in recent years, said the publication “Currently,".

Фото: Depositphotos

The bribed administrators corrected the results of the entrance tests or passed the exams themselves, the applicants were fictitiously represented by the athletes to receive preferences for admission, even if the children had never engaged in the declared sport.

This scandal caused another wave. debates about the role of prestigious universities in the higher education system and how wealth can provide access to elite universities that emphasize their careful approach to the selection of applicants.

In press remembered the case of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the US President: he was admitted to Harvard shortly after Charles Kushner, Jared's father, donated $ 2,5 million to the university. The applicant did not have outstanding test results.

How it all happened

Massachusetts Attorney's Office 12 March опубликовала details of a massive fraudulent scheme for admission to prestigious universities in the country. In the incomplete list of accused - 50 people. In the center of the scheme is William "Rick" Singer, owner of a company preparing for entering universities.

According to investigators, since 2011, Singer received about $ 25 million from wealthy parents to the accounts of his formally charitable organization as bribes to guarantee admission of children to elite universities.

Separate charges of tax evasion were filed against parents - payments were made as charitable donations, and therefore bribes paid to Singer were not taxed.

Singer was charged with conspiracy to extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The case involves 31 parent and 18 administrators, examiners, and sports coaches from several large and prestigious American universities (including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, and the University of Southern California).

According to investigators, Singer helped his clients' children fraudulently to get higher scores on SAT / ACT tests for graduates. He advised clients to get a doctor's opinion that their children had learning problems: this gave adolescents extra time on tests and the opportunity to pass them separately from the rest of schoolchildren.

Then the parents had to change the test location: to a school in Houston, Texas, or in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California. There, the prosecution claims, Singer agreed with the test administrators, Nicky Williams and Igor Dvorsky. For amounts up to $ 10 000 for a test (customers paid Singer from $ 15000 to $ 75000 for a test) Williams and Dvorsky, claims the charge, allowed third parties to take tests instead of those who were tested, or dictated the correct answers to teens or corrected tests already written by applicants.

The prosecutor's office notes that in many cases the children did not know about the fraudulent scheme.

But tests were just one of the components. Sports in American universities is a multi-billion dollar industry. Applicants showing good achievements in sports, as a rule, can count on benefits for enrollment. This was used by Singer, who represented the children of his rich clients as outstanding athletes, even if they had never engaged in rowing (for example, the daughters of actress Lori Loughlin), football or water polo.

Parents took staged photos or the Singer team retouched other people's photos, and at the same time came up with an impressive sports biography for the clients' children. Questions arose only from the staff of the schools where the graduates studied: “How is he the future champion in water polo? In our school, even this group was not like this! ".

In these frauds, according to the prosecution, Singer was assisted by bribed coaches and sports administrators of several major universities. Immediately four worked at the University of Southern California. They helped to avoid questions after enrollment: why the student is not engaged in the declared sport? Usually they tried to write this off as an injury.

Bribes were transferred to administrators under the guise of donations to the development funds of certain sports programs.

Фото: Depositphotos

The main figures of scandal

At the center of the scam is William Singer, owner of the Edge College & Career Network and head of the Key Worldwide Foundation, a former university admissions consultant who began his career as a school basketball coach. Singer pleaded guilty and was released on bail of $ 500. Him threatens up to 65 years in prison, not counting fines. Sentence plan to announce the June 19.

Charges were also brought against six Singer employees and school administrators who collaborated with him.

The list of defendants includes 12 coaches and sports administrators from Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, Wake Forest, University of Texas at Austin, University of California at Los Angeles, and University of Southern California. Many are fired or sent on administrative leave.

Parents have also been charged, including Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin (“Full House”) and Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”). The list also included managers and owners of large companies, investors and designers. By estimated legal experts, they may face up to 37 months in prison, depending on the size of bribes.

On words Singer, he helped with the enrollment of 800 families. How many of them fraudulently - is still unknown.

What will happen next

The defendants are awaiting trial, where new details may be made public. People face lengthy prison sentences and heavy fines. But now many defendants were released on bail: for actress Lori Loughlin, he was a million dollars.

The scandal is a serious blow to the reputation of the leading universities of the country. Although the investigation did not report systemic violations in the admission commissions, the money was quite officially transferred to the accounts of certain sports organizations in universities, and more people could know about the fraudulent schemes than mentioned in the indictment. At the University of Southern California (Los Angeles), charges were immediately brought against four members of the sports administration.

Some universities Have begun own investigations. They have not yet affected the students themselves. There is at least one known case in which a student suffered as a result of a scandal: Sephora’s advertising partner terminated the cooperation agreement with popular blogger Olivia Giannulli (daughter of actress Lori Loughlin). Moreover, on Olivia and her sister become frequent attacks on the Internet.

Two Stanford students sued the universities mentioned in the indictment. The girls believe that the fraud reduced their chances of fair entry to Yale and the University of Southern California, and the scandal will reflect on the value of their diplomas.

Firms that are legally involved in helping applicants fear that the scandal will harm their business, which is often paid at rates around $ 1000 / hour. Preparing students for tests and working on introductory essays can cost parents tens of thousands of dollars, although individual customers are willing to pay hundreds of thousands.

Media again write that higher education in the United States is becoming increasingly elitist. A study published several years ago states that 38 universities - including Yale - took There are more students from 1% of the richest American families than from 60% from the back of the income scale.

“The primary victims of this case are hard-working students who did everything they could to succeed during the admission process, but were left behind because less prepared students and their families simply bought seats,” said FBI Special Agent Joseph Bonavolonta.

Do such scandals happen often in the USA?

Yes, but usually we are talking only about one university, and not about several at once.

In 2014, an independent investigation found that several thousand student-athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were specifically taking "easy classes" from the (subsequently disbanded) African American Studies department. Student athletes were given overestimated grades, which allowed them to continue their studies and sports career.

In 2016, the University of South Georgia was punished for the machinations of student-athletes: work instead of students wrote university staff.

In 2012, the investigation recognized the assistant coach of the University of Pennsylvania team in American football guilty in ten cases of sexual harassment of boys.

In 2009, an investigation into the Chicago Tribune revealedthat some applicants enjoyed the privileges of enrollment thanks to the political connections of parents.

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