Rick Singer pleaded guilty on Tuesday to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy to commit fraud, and obstruction of justice.
A high school student might get into a top university based on their test scores and abilities. Or maybe, their parents' hefty donation could cause an admissions officer to take a second look.
"What we do is we help the wealthiest families in the US get their kids into school," he said."They want guarantees, they want this thing done. They don’t want to be messing around with this thing."He added that traditionally, there was the front door of admissions — merit and academics. A large donation to a school could also get students in via a backdoor, but Singer stressed, there was no guarantee. He offered what he called a side door.
Often, the students didn't know their parents had paid for their scores to be manipulated, prosecutors said.To hide the payments, Singer asked parents to donate money to his charity, Key Worldwide Foundation. The donation to a 5013 organization provided parents with a tax write-off, Singer said, and it would hide where the money had gone.
According to prosecutors, that arrangement netted former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst $2.7 million over several years. Ernst was indicted on Tuesday on conspiracy to commit racketeering. The Key Worldwide Foundation lists him as a paid consultant.
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