Olivia Jade “I don’t care about school”. Her mum is accused of bribing her acceptance to USC for $500,000.
Actress Lori Loughlin (Aunt Becky from Full(er) House) are among at least 50 people who have been charged in a college entrance cheating scandal, according to FBI.
An FBI investigation, code named Operation Varsity Blues, uncovered the $25 million scam involved parents spending thousands of dollars to boost their children’s chances of being accepted into top-tier schools, including Yale and Stanford. According to the accusation, they pay people to take college entrance exams on their children’s behalf, bribing exam administrators to allow the cheating to happen, and bribing college administrators and athletic coaches to identify applicants as recruited athletes—despite their (non)athletic abilities.
Loughlin is charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud.
It is alleged Lori Loughlin paid $500,000 to have her two daughters designated as recruits for the crew team in order to gain admission to USC.
Olivia Jade telling her social media followers she don’t like school
US Attorney’s Office announces charges against 50 individuals involved in a large-scale college entrance exam cheating scandal, including actress Lori Loughlin. Actress Felicity Huffman was charged as well. 33 parents and 9 college coaches, are charged in the plot that involves students who were seeking admission to schools such as Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, the University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale.
William Rick Singer, the founder of a for-profit college preparation business based in Newport Beach, Calif., is said to be the mastermind of the scheme. Parents allegedly paid him between $15,000 and $75,000 per test for someone to either take the SAT or ACT on behalf of their children or to change their child’s incorrect answers after the student had already taken the test.
Additionally, parents reportedly paid Singer to bribe college coaches and administrators to designate their children as student athletes or “other favored admissions categories,” according to court documents.
The colleges themselves are not targets of the investigation, and aside from the named college coaches, the schools had no part in the scam.
Loughlin allegedly paid $500,000 to have her two daughters designated as recruits for the crew team in order to gain admission to USC, according to MSNBC, while Huffman is alleged to have spent $15,000 to have her daughter’s incorrect answers changed on the SAT. Huffman is on a recording the FBI has with a cooperating witness discussing the alleged scheme.
“We believe everyone charged here today had a role in fostering a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for students trying to get into these schools the right way through hard work, good grades and community service,” John Bonavolonta, FBI special agent in charge, told NBC News
“Following 10 months of investigation using sophisticated techniques, the FBI uncovered what we believe to be a rigged system,” Bonavolonta said, “robbing students all over the country of their right to a fair shot of getting into some of the most elite universities in this country.”
LIVE: US Attorney’s Office announces charges against 50 individuals involved in a large-scale college entrance exam cheating scandal, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. nbcnews.to/2EWe7kxPosted by NBC News on Tuesday, March 12, 2019