FBI busts Massive exam ring
This story is insane and apparently involves everyone from college coaches to Aunt Becky.
The plot involved students who attended or were seeking to attend Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, the University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale, according to federal prosecutors.
Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136
Press conference about the story scheduled for 11:30am EST.
Are you sure?
I heard 2 cases of Natty Light down there and you can write your own ticket.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
The elitist, "ivy-league-school-and-their-equivalents-or-bust" mentality among some Americans is completely out of control.
It shouldn't be that way. But it is. The road may be a bit harder, but successful people can come from all educational backgrounds.
There was an article on Deadspin just yesterday about Howard Schultz (the Starbucks guy). He is an alum of Northern Michigan. The just of the Deadspin article is how Schultz has acted like he is ashamed of his alma mater. Schultz seemingly doesn't like to acknowledge his NMU degree because it doesn't have a whole lot of "cache" among a certain class of people.
My own boss got his undergrad from Northern Kentucky (Go Norse, nice win over Oakland last night!) --- he doesn't like to admit that either. God knows why, he's a successful person in life.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
Because there are some social/professional circles that will never accept a person the minute they see NMU or NKU on that person's resume instead of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc. It's very much an old-world, old-money way of thinking. The good ol' boys sitting in their country clubs, third generation members, sitting around in smoking jackets with their own individual bottles of 150 year old brandy. The people who think if you couldn't get into an Ivy, you might as well not even bother going to college.
I'm not saying its right, but that's the way it is sometimes. Schultz is not a "Harvard man," so no matter what, some people in those circles will think he's never good enough. I mean hell, didn't Tom Brady just get accepted, in the last year, into some Boston country club he'd been trying to get into for a while? There are some people out there who don't care to associate themselves with "new money" types.
Yeah - you're right. It does tend to bum me out, but I suppose it shouldn't.
I remember the Tom Brady Country Club story. That was Brookline, which is elite. I'm sure a number of their members enjoyed making Tom Brady wait a couple years - just to make a point.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
It's even more absurd when you consider that at least some of the professors at places like Northern Michigan or Northern Kentucky are likely extremely well educated and bright. Because of the glut of academics trying to get jobs, the professors at such universities probably came from schools that are significantly more prestigious. And that ends up redounding to the benefit of universities like this. You really can get a world-class education at nearly any legitimate university in the US.
East coast and west coast elitists.
SMH.
You are from Penn State and are therefore not allowed to be appalled at anything. You shouldn't be allowed to have a football program, but I'll settle for all Penn Staters keeping their collective mouths shut when university corruption comes up.
Geez--two posters from rival schools chime in with reasonable comments (and I thought the one from Buckeyejonross was hilarious), and you respond with hostility. This might be a time when we don't have to pile on our rivals--it's basically an OT thread about an issue of general interest to the board.
And yes--I do realize it's naive to ask for civility and magnanimity on the internet.
Exactly. The board is better when we can have civil discourse with opposing fans. Usually, it's the other fans that make that impossible, so let's not alienate the ones who are worth keeping around, OK? :)
I hope you realize that the majority of students and alumni at Penn State had nothing to do with any of that.
....however, they still believe that joepa was a saint and above it all.
BTW, FUCK ped state and all their delusional joepa loving fans and all the paternos and field goal franklin.
Some are still moaning that Spanier was railroaded and shouldn't serve any time for his conviction. Scumbags on an epic scale.
This probably my fancy degree talking, but I think the word you are looking for is "cachet."
March 12th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
Loughlin paid $500G to get her daughter into USC. If i'm paying that much I want my kid going to Princeton. USC isn't worth it. Plus, they lied and said she was a crew recruit to get favorable admissions treatment.
I got into Michigan straight-up but always felt like a fraud. I always thought there was a kid out there who didn't get in who would've worked harder than I did and gotten more out of their experience at U of M. Can't imagine what I would've felt like if my parents had bought my way in.
Right? These kids are going to be f-ed for life. Either they'll be super entitled or have monumental inferiority complexes, and likely both because those two go hand-in-hand.
You must not have spent much time around these kind of folks. They are classic "born on third base, thought they hit a triple" types.
well, the kid he referenced has a fashion or cosmetic line already. so she has a gig and doesn't need that usc degree.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Well, clearly Lori won't be in the next season of Fuller House, unless they already filmed it.
She won’t be in the next Fuller House because she’ll be... in the Big House?
Thank you, I’m here all week.
March 12th, 2019 at 10:09 PM ^
I'm more concerned about how this will affect my Hallmark Christmas movies
March 12th, 2019 at 12:33 PM ^
This just in,,,,,Everybody Cheats.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Is this some kind of bust?
March 12th, 2019 at 11:02 PM ^
Yes, ... it's very impressive.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
This is super goofy and almost certainly about the egos of the parents more than anything to do with the kids. That being said, on a fundamental level, this is no different that the wealthy donating large sums directly to schools that their children just coincidentally want to attend.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
One article did state that, in most cases, the kids were unaware that their admissions had been bought, which supports the parental ego theory.
No sir, it's entirely different.
If you want favorable treatment as a wealthy donor, usually we are talking high six figures or more.
These parents are using fraud to deceive the university into believing the students are qualified, and the school receives no benefit from the exchange.
As a former student, I had no issue with the guy going to Michigan who's parents contributed substantially to the school, he usually had unique insights in other areas, and it allowed for other students to receive a partial or full scholarship.
These parents are paying $75k for a false set of SAT/ACT scores, or going in through a fake sports admission program. Hard to compete against someone who got a 1600, and that takes away from a spot for a deserving admit.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
Cooperating witnesses include a founder of Key Worldwide (I always suspected that key foundation or whatever thing they offer you at graduation was a scam) and director of college prep at a prep school and sports academy in Bradenton, FL. I assume it is IMG Academy.
"director of college prep at a prep school and sports academy in Bradenton, FL. I assume it is IMG Academy."
Holy shit... if this turns out to be IMG, I wonder if it will peel the lid off of what I've always believed is a glorified diploma mill for HS athletes.
Or a way to position kids as elite athletes in order to get them a leg up in admissions to elite schools (in the context of this article).
But seriously, that is pretty specific language used in court proceedings. Just found another article from CBS Sports that speculates, also, that it is IMG:
In addition to the NCAA coaches implicated by the federal findings, it has been speculated that famed high school sports powerhouse IMG Academy, a private college sports preparatory, may be part of the scheme. Released court documents describe a "private college preparatory and sports academy in Bradenton, Florida" being connected to the scandal.
If you were running this scheme, you'd want to have associates that steer parents to you. IMG is a big school that costs over $70K a year for those that don't get scholarships. That employee would be in a perfect position at the school.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:54 PM ^
Remember when people had integrity?
Nope, me neither.
Felicity Huffman thought this was just another episode of Desperate Housewives.
And it now being reported that Huffman has been arrested. Aunt Becky is in Canada, so she's safe for now, until she steps back across the border.
It's about time. I've been wanting her arrested since she played that horrible immoral principle on American Crime. Perhaps that role gave her some ideas.
Of course the coaches were wrong to do this, but it's hard to blame someone like the Stanford table tennis coach living in the Bay Area and making $23,500 while their lame men's basketball coach makes millions to not make the NIT. Or, "Cley Helton makes WHAT?!"
I mean, "hey, here's $10K to say kid X is going to be on your team. Once he's enrolled you can 'cut' him."
Ring leader had to know these coaches couldn't turn it down.
It's insane and so completely unethical what some families will do to attain the right status by getting their kids into the most selective schools.
The word "accommodation" immediately comes to mind which is the other means by which some more privileged families provide advantages for admission to their kids. Getting an extra +50% of exam time for all of your high school testing in addition to SAT/ ACT examinations is VERY meaningful, and the institutions are blind to the students being accommodated by such advantages. You can bet that the % of accommodations is highly correlated to income which makes it all the harder for kids of lesser circumstances to get into schools.
This is a mad-lib of news titles if I’ve ever seen one
Except it is essentially "reverse recruiting violations": coaches cheating against there own teams (and schools) in order to make some cash on the side.
So I'm curious to what all the crimes are here. I guess I can understand if you cheat on an admissions exam to a public university that there is some either state or local laws that may be violated. I cant imagine it is some huge crime with heavy penalties. But what about private schools, which most of those schools listed are. What is the jurisdiction on that?
The article listed only two specific crimes - conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud (wtf is that?). Neither of these sound like front page national news to me.
I'm assuming bribery is in there somewhere but only for the people making and taking them..
Yes there is bribery :) the coaches and admin types involved didn't do this for free.
Tax evasion. Not reporting income.
This likely entails both tax evasion and mail/wire fraud both of which are felonies, typically sentencing is with significant jail time and big fines to the fraud ring leaders. But some very wealthy, prominent parents are also going to pay big fines and some may even see time behind bars.
Parents will pay fines yes.
Not a chance any of them spend any more time in jail than they already have. Just not serious enough crime to justify it.
It wouldn't have been front-page news, except that (a) it, tangentially, involved college athletics, and (b) two "celebrities" were charged.
Fair points. I just cant help feeling that when our government takes the time to make such a spectacle of what to my mind seems barely "crime", to the point where they made 50 something arrests, that they want you to look at the shiny thing while actual major crimes are being committed that they are looking the other way on.
At this very moment Wells Fargo is in front of the Financial Services Committee. The crimes they are being called to attest to are pretty insane and were systematic throughout the entire company. All of the money involved would make the Varsity Blues scandal look like someone swiped a roll of quarters when a store clerk wasn't looking.
No one at Wells Fargo was ever arrested nor likely will be.
Good point. Often, it seems that the government goes after the sensational rather than the more important crimes. If somebody does or does not get into a college, how much harm is actually caused? On the other hand, if somebody is screwing around with your money on a wide spread scale (as in Wells Fargo), that's much more damaging to people and the financial system but they seem less aggressive with fewer arrests and lighter penalties.
The parents are being charged with mail fraud, which while a bit of a catch-all, covers the intent-to-defraud-via-official-communication crimes. Basically, they lied on a "formal" document. And this is not a podunk local or state charge - these are federal felony charges.
The administrators of the scheme are being charged with racketeering and various conspiracy charges. They are alleged to have run a criminal enterprise on a multi-million dollar scale.
This is justifiably huge news. Several very wealthy and famous people are likely to be convicted on federal felony charges.
March 13th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
There are a litany of crimes implicated here. Putting your name on an ACT/SAT that was taken by someone else is fraud. Photoshopping your face onto some else's body so you can get admitted as an athlete is fraud. Fraud alone a felony.
After that a bunch of additional crimes stem from the original fraud/bribery - including tax evasion (failure to report income received as a bribe), money laundering (to hide the flow of illegal income), obstruction of justice, racketeeering (organizing an illegal scheme), and conspiracy to commit all of the above.
Ha. If you read the indictment, the feds low-key burn University of San Diego. In their general allegations, they call all of the universities "highly selective" except for USD. Good stuff.