The simplest question to ask of this immense scandal is how far should any parent go to get their child into an elite school? Apparently, for some, there are no limits, just as there were no ethics. Wealth privilege and unethical behavior seem to be an entitlement for the rich.
The most well-known names to emerge in the scandal thus far are actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. In a sense, it is a shame because 33 parents are involved including lawyers (who should have known better) and CEO’s. However, as the case unfolds, the actresses used all of their influence to scam the system.
The World of William “Rick” Singer
In another time and place, Singer could have channeled the inner world of Bernard “Bernie” Madoff. Singer created a college counseling service known as “The Key.” The service is for-profit and worked to get entitled children into top-name schools. He used two broad methods, both unethical, to get parents the desired result.
In part one, parents paid huge wads of money to get an organization to take college admission tests on behalf of the students, or the organization fixed it so that students could take “unlimited” amounts of time to answer test questions. Therefore, cheating students recorded amazing test results.
Part two might have been even more sinister. “The Key” flat-out bribed Division 1 college coaches to admit the privileged students as elite athletes, even though some of those students had no athletic ability whatsoever. In addition, Singer’s organization created phony sports profiles to make the students appear as though they were blue-chip prospects.
It was a case of wealth and privilege combined with fraud. Obviously, when space was taken in an athletic program by one of the privileged frauds, it blocked talented kids from entering the program.
Parents paid out anywhere from $200,000 to $6.5 million to get their children into the schools and the scam took place from 2011 to 2019. So far, none of the students have been arrested, but it could happen.
It was called Operation Varsity Blues
The scandal blew up, as all scandals do. Singer created charitable foundations, e.g., the Key Worldwide Foundation, rather than allowing parents to make money to him directly. The Internal Revenue Service is not stupid. Though Singer made as much as $25 million over the years, the patterns of donations and other irregularities raised suspicion.
As law enforcement began to close in, a cooperating witness to the fraud was directed to make a recording of a discussion they had with Actress Loughlin and her designer husband. In the conversation, they were discussing an IRS audit being done on one of the fake foundations Singer used to funnel money into his pockets.
Both actresses were “flagged” in this scandal because they participated in both parts of the fraud. They paid off test takers to get their kids outstanding grades and then they built athletic profiles to make their kids into legitimate “recruits.”
Singer’s fraudulent organization chose coaches of lesser sports who could be easily bribed without creating as much suspicion as it might have with collegiate football or basketball. They focused on crew, tennis, volleyball and water polo. At this time, all of the coaches have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of their particular cases.
In the Wake of Bad Ethics
Not one person who has been arrested is innocent. In the wake of the scandal including money laundering and multiple counts of wire fraud, the wealthy, in their obsession to get their privileged children into prestigious schools, have ruined many lives. They all saw an opportunity that could be created by bribery. They saw in the eyes of test administrators and minor-sport coaches a need to gain financially.
In the minds of the wealthy, the privileged, they rationalized that they were dealing with little people, insignificant people. As long as their children gained admission, nothing else mattered. In truth, they were the little people, and in the end, they won’t matter to law enforcement at all. Wealth privilege and unethical behavior should not be condoned.
