Update: Today, Felicity Huffman pled guilty to her involvement in the largest college admissions scandal in history, along with 12 others implicated in the bribery ring.
In a statement, Huffman said:
“I am in full acceptance of my guilt and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.”
The others who entered a plea of guilty are Gregory Abbott, Marcia Abbott, Jane Buckingham, Gordon Caplan, Robert Flaxman, Agustin Huneeus Jr., Marjorie Klapper, Peter Jan Sartorio, Stephen Semprevivo, and Devin Sloane. Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli have not yet entered their pleas.
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In case you haven’t heard, last month, news broke of what’s being called the largest college-admissions scandal in history.
It goes like this: A man named William Singer, who is the founder of a college-prep business called The Key, accepted millions of dollars from individuals to get their children into elite colleges such as Yale and the University of Southern California.
How did he do it, you might ask? Singer had an intricate network of accomplices and utilized strategies that ranged from paying standardized-test administrators to fake students' test scores to falsely positioning students as competitive athletes. According to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling, most clients paid between $250,000 and $450,000 USD per student, but some paid as much as $6.5 million.
So far, Singer has been charged with obstruction of justice, racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and other charges. But he’s not the only one being held accountable for this complex, decades-long scheme.
At the time of writing, federal authorities have charged 50 people for participating in this racket, and some of them might be people you know. Below is the full list:
The Ringleaders:
William Rick Singer: owner of Edge College & Career Network and CEO of the Key Worldwide Foundation
Steven Masera: accountant and financial officer for the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation
Mikaela Sanford: employee of the Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation
The Administrators:
Igor Dvorskiy: director of a private elementary and high school and a test administrator for the College Board and ACT
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Martin Fox: president of a private tennis academy in Houston
Donna Heinel: senior associate athletic director at the University of Southern California
Mark Riddell: director of college entrance-exam preparation at IMG Academy
Niki Williams: assistant teacher at Houston, TX, high school
The Coaches:
Michael Center: head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin
Gordon Ernst: former head coach of men's and women’s tennis at Georgetown University
William Ferguson: former women’s volleyball coach at Wake Forest University
Laura Janke: former assistant coach of women’s soccer at the University of Southern California
Ali Khosroshahin: former USC women’s soccer coach
Rudolph Meredith: former head women’s soccer coach at Yale University
Jorge Salcedo: former head coach of men’s soccer at the University of California at Los Angeles
John Vandemoer: head sailing coach at Stanford University
Jovan Vavic: former water polo coach at University of Southern California
The Clients:
Marcia and Gregory Abbott: Gregory is founder and chairman of food and beverage packing company International Dispensing Corp.
Gamal Abdelaziz: former Las Vegas gaming executive at Wynn Macau and MGM Resorts International
Diane Blake: executive at a retail merchandising firm, formerly director of retail marketing at Levi Strauss
Todd Blake: entrepreneur and investor, former trustee at the K-8 Ross School District in Marin County
Jane Buckingham: founder and president of consumer-insights marketing firm Trendera and author of The Modern Girl's Guide to Life
Gordon Caplan: co-chairman of an international law firm based in New York City
I-Hsin “Joey” Chen: operates warehousing and related services for the shipping industry
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Amy and Gregory Colburn: Gregory is a radiation oncologist in California
Robert Flaxman: CEO and founder of Crown Realty & Development, a real estate firm
Mossimo Giannulli: fashion designer at Mossimo, sold at Target
Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez: Manuel is founder, chairman, and CEO of a publicly traded specialty finance company
Douglas Hodge: former CEO of investment management company
Felicity Huffman: actress best known for her roles on Trans America, Christmas with the Kranks, and Desperate Housewives
Agustin Huneeus Jr.: owner of wine vineyards in Napa, California
Davina and Bruce Isackson: Bruce is president of real estate development firm WP Investments
Michelle Janavs: former executive of Hot Pockets
Lori Loughlin: actress best known for her roles on Full House, Fuller House, and 90210
Elisabeth Kimmel: owner and president of a Las Vegas media company and former owner of KFMB Stations
Marjorie Klapper: co-owner of M&M Bling jewelry business
Toby MacFarlane: former senior executive at a title insurance company
William McGlashan: founder and managing partner at private equity company TPG Growth
Marci Palatella: CEO of Preservation Distillery in Kentucky and wife of former 49ers player Lou Palatella
Peter Jan Sartorio: founder and president of Nate's and PJ's Foods
Stephen Semprevivo: chief strategy and growth officer, Cydcor, LLC
David Sidoo: Vancouver businessman and former Canadian Football League player
Devin Sloane: founder and CEO of Aquatecture, LLC
John Wilson: president and CEO of Hyannis Port Capital
Homayoun Zadeh: an associate professor of dentistry at University of Southern California
Robert Zangrillo: founder, chairman, and CEO of Dragon Global, a private investment firm with a focus on venture capital and real estate
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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