A federal prosecutor says a wealthy Maryland businessman bought the run-down home of Harvard’s fencing coach for well above its value, bankrolled the renovation of his $1 million condo and helped pay the coach’s bills in a scheme to secure coveted spots for his sons at the elite university
FILE — Former Harvard University fencing coach Peter Brand departs federal court in Boston, Nov. 16, 2020, after being arraigned and freed on bail. Opening statements are taking place, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in the case of the former Harvard fencing coach and a wealthy Maryland businessman on trial on accusations that the coach accepted more than $1.5 million in bribes in exchange for helping the businessman get his two sons into the Ivy League school as recruited fencers.
“Jack didn’t need to bribe Coach Brand to recruit his sons, he had no reason to do so," said Zhao's attorney, Michael Packard. Zhao's sons “earned it," he said.The Boston Globe reported in 2019 Brand wrote in a message to another man: “His boys don’t have to be great fencers. All I need is a good incentive to recruit them," according to court documents.
Defense attorneys questioned why Zhao would write checks on behalf of Brand and buy Brand's house in his own name if he were trying to hide something illegal. Brand's attorney, Douglas Brooks, said that the coach faced pressure from Harvard to raise money and was encouraged by the school to recruit students with “capacity” or families with a lot of wealth.
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