Justice passed Wednesday, January 4, almost four years after the start of the scandal. American businessman William “Rick” Signer was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in federal court in Boston for fraud in a college admissions bribery case, “the longest sentence in this case that shook the American higher education system”, reported the American channel CNN on January 4th.
More than seven million dollars in bribes
William “Rick” Singer was at the head of the network involving wealthy parents and “ready for anything” to get their children into some of the most prestigious universities in the United States, such as Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, USC, Texas, UCLA and WakeForest. They paid large sums of money to cheat on standardized exams, bribe college coaches and administrators who had influence over admissions, and then lied to authorities.
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William Singer used his college prep and counseling business known as “The Key” and its associated charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation, to implement his plan. He received more than $25 million from his clients, paid kickbacks worth more than $7 million, and transferred, spent or used more than $15 million on his own, prosecutors report.
Dozens of people involved
The respondent pleaded guilty to “racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice in March 2019”. In addition to his sentence of three and a half years in prison, William Singer was sentenced to three years of supervised release and a confiscation of more than ten million dollars. He must report to prison on February 27, also explains CNN.
The case broke in March 2019. US authorities then arrested and charged more than 50 people, including coaches, examiners, business leaders as well as actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.
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With few exceptions, most defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from weeks to months. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were sentenced to 14 days and two months in prison respectively. Former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst was sentenced to two and a half years, the second heaviest sentence in the case after William Singer.
By Caroline Laires Tavares
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