New York Daily News

$6M for Stanford

China fam paidcrook to get gal in – report

- BY NANCY DILLON AND JESSICA SCHLADEBEC­K

The mystery undergrad behind the alleged $6.5 million payment in the college admissions bribery scandal is a Beijing native admitted to Stanford as a bogus sailing recruit, a new report revealed Wednesday.

Yusi Zhao, also known by the name Molly, gained admission to Stanford in the spring of 2017 after her family paid the whopping sum to crooked college admissions counselor William (Rick) Singer, sources told The Los Angeles Times.

The one-percenters reportedly met Singer through a Morgan Stanley financial adviser.

Stanford said last month it had expelled a coed who submitted falsified sailing credential­s, but it declined to identify the student.

Yusi Zhao’s profile on a Stanford student database is no longer active, according to The Times.

The Wall Street Journal and ABC News previously reported the family linked to the scam’s record $6.5 million payment was from China.

The scandal exploded March 12 when the U.S. attorney in Boston announced charges against 54 people including Singer and 32 wealthy parents like “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman and “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin.

Huffman agreed to plead guilty to charges she paid $15,000 in a conspiracy that rigged her eldest daughter’s SAT score.

On Wednesday, a wealthy California couple pleaded guilty to shelling out more than $600,000 in bribes to get their daughters into college.

Bruce Isackson, a 61year-old real estate developer, and his 55-year-old wife, Davina Isackson, admitted to participat­ing in the scam before Judge Patti Saris in a Boston federal courthouse, making them the first parents to plead guilty in the socalled “Varsity Blues” scandal.

 ??  ?? William “Rick” Singer is tied to massive payoff.
William “Rick” Singer is tied to massive payoff.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States