A former Harvard fencing coach was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he accepted more than $1.5 million in bribes in exchange for designating a wealthy businessman’s two sons as recruits to help secure their admission to the elite university
in exchange for designating a wealthy businessman's two sons as recruits to help secure their admission to the elite university., Jie"Jack" Zhao. Zhao, of Potomac, Maryland, who was also acquitted of the same charges.sprawling college admissions bribery scandal
Defense attorneys didn’t deny that Zhao paid too much money for Brand’s home or helped him in other ways financially, but they said it had nothing to do with getting Zhao’s sons get into the school. They argued that Zhao bought the house as an investment and that the payments were loans to help out a good friend in financial need. Brand paid back Zhao with interest when the coach inherited money from his late mother, the defense said.
In his closing argument, Brooks called it an “alleged crime in search of a victim,” saying prosecutors provided no evidence the teens took slots away from more qualified recruits. He said that if Zhao wanted to bribe Brand, he could have done so with a bag of cash. Instead, Zhao purchased the home in his own name and paid Brand’s bills using his own checks.
Brand didn’t disclose the payments from Zhao to Harvard, authorities said, and Brand was fired from the school in July 2019 for violating its conflict-of-interest policy.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sam Bankman-Fried's extradition hearing set for WednesdayA hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in a Bahamian court to take up the issue of the FTX founder's possible extradition U.S.
Read more »
Sam Bankman-Fried Heading Back to US on Wednesday: ReportAfter being arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, SBF dropped plans to resist extradition.
Read more »
Vigil planned Wednesday in Short North for twin who remains missing after brother foundA vigil is scheduled for Wednesday to pray for the safe return of a second Columbus infant twin who was missing after his brother was found in Dayton.
Read more »
Mild conditions, sunny skies expected Wednesday in SoCalSOCAL FORECAST: While rest of nation faces powerful cold front and snow storms, SoCal should see mild temps, sunny skies on Wednesday. Full forecast through the holiday weekend from abc7dallas here:
Read more »
Hearing on FTX founder's extradition to US set for WednesdaySam Bankman-Fried will have a hearing Wednesday in a Bahamian court on his possible extradition to the U.S. in the coming days to face criminal charges related to the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Read more »
FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Will Fly From Bahamas to U.S. Wednesday to Face Criminal ChargesSam Bankman-Fried is set to return to the U.S., where he faces multiple criminal charges tied to the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX.
Read more »