National Post (National Edition)
Fallout just starting in admissions case
U.S. authorities still searching for answers
BO S T ON • The morning after 50 people were charged in a sweeping college admissions fraud investigation, the fallout was just beginning.
Colleges where coaches were accused of taking bribes were reeling. Wealthy and well-known parents charged in the case were preparing to surrender to authorities or were free on bail. And companies were distancing themselves from executives accused of paying for falsified test scores and athletic status for their children.
One of the most prominent parents, actress Lori Loughlin, surrendered to FBI agents in Los Angeles at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after returning from a film shoot in Vancouver, a spokesman for the agency said. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying US$500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters accepted as recruits for the rowing team at the University of Southern California, even though neither took part in the sport. Giannulli was arrested Tuesday and released on $1-million bail.
Another parent charged in the case, Stephen Semprevivo, a business executive, was scheduled to appear in court at the same time.
The central figure in the case, William Singer, a college admissions consultant based in Newport Beach, Calif., pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges in Boston on Tuesday and was released on bail.
The accusations against Singer, also known as Rick Singer, pose potential problems for the organizations behind the two most widely used college admissions tests, the SAT and the ACT, which most colleges weigh in evaluating prospective students.
According to prosecutors, Singer bribed test administrators and proctors to tamper with students’ answer sheets, or in some cases to take the whole test in a student’s place, to obtain the scores that were agreed in advance with the parents who paid him.
The conspiracy relied on the parents getting medical documentation that would entitle their children to extra time on the test, an accommodation normally made for students with disabilities. Students who need extra time generally take the test alone, supervised only by a proctor — providing the opportunity for the bribed proctor to rig the outcome. Singer advised parents on how to get the medical docu- mentation needed to qualify.
According to court filings, in a conversation with one of the parents, Gordon Caplan, Singer explained that for $4,000 or $5,000, a psychologist he worked with would write a report saying Caplan’s daughter had disabilities and required special accommodations. He assured Caplan that many parents did this for their children.
Caplan is the co-chairman of global law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The firm said in a statement Wednesday that it had put Caplan on a leave of absence and that he would have no further management responsibilities. Reached by phone Wednesday, Caplan declined to comment.
One of the other prominent parents caught up in the case, William E. Mcglashan Jr., a partner at private equity firm TPG, was also placed on leave Tuesday by his company. On Wednesday, he stepped down from the board of STX Entertainment, the film studio that he helped found with film producer Robert Simonds.
Zachary Goldberg, a spokesman for the College Board, which administers the SAT, defended the extra-time policy. “The College Board considers all reasonable requests for accommodations — such as large print, Braille, or extended time — needed by students with documented disabilities,” he said.
The board asks for documentation in some cases, Goldberg said, but in the “vast majority” of cases, the modifications are granted through the schools that students attend, where they are evaluated and given an individualized education program.
Goldberg said that the board had worked with law enforcement on this case, and that the arrests sent a message that “those who facilitate cheating on the SAT — regardless of their income or status — will be held accountable.”