The college bribery scandal, which led to charges being filed against Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman among others, has dominated headlines since news of it broke.
The man who is accused of masterminding it, William “Rick” Singer, admitted in federal court he had helped the parents of 761 high school students cheat their way into college.
The methods varied, but they included falsifying answers on standardized tests, faking athletic profiles and bribing admissions employees.
In a conversation with Axios Sports, a well-known Silicon Valley investor who hired Singer to help his son gain admission to college said he was offered a “side door” to make it happen.
“He sort of said: ‘I think I can get your kid into USC, but he’s going to be a football player,’” according to the anonymous investor. “Now my kid only played freshman football and wasn’t sure he wanted to go to USC, but Singer tells me there would be a spot and he doesn’t actually have to play football. He makes it all sound so reasonable, except that he also says he’ll need a picture and asks if I have one from freshman football.”
Luckily for the investor, he didn’t end up taking the bait.
“He uses the word ‘side-door.’ Something like, ‘Your kid can’t really get in here, but I’ve got a way to get him in the side-door,’” he said. “He kept pushing it, but I finally just said to give some other child the opportunity. No money was ever discussed with me, outside of the regular monthly fee to do the standard stuff, but the idea of doctoring up an application was not my sort of thing. My wife didn’t ever like him. Her Spidey sense was great. It took dad a bit longer. I feel dirty, and I didn’t even do anything wrong.”
Loughlin, of Full House, and Huffman, of Desperate Housewives, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. Prosecutors say parents like Loughlin and Huffman paid Silver $25 million from 2011 through February of this year.
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