- The college-admissions scandal, which has provoked both fascination and ire, led to criminal charges against 50 people — including Hollywood celebrities and business titans, who were accused of paying bribes to get their children into elite colleges.
- Yet, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, there is still one mystery in the $25 million dollar scam: $6.5 million dollars paid by a not-yet-named person (or people) to an unnamed school (or schools).
- When reached for comment by the LA Times, a spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in Boston said, "The name was not divulged."
- In total, 33 parents were charged, along with others, including the accused ringleader of the scandal, William Singer, who started the company that facilitated the payments.
The college-admissions scandal, which has provoked both fascination and ire, led to criminal charges against 50 people— including Hollywood celebrities and business titans, who were accused of paying bribes to get their children into elite colleges.
Yet, as noted by the Los Angeles Times, there is still one mystery in the alleged $25 million dollar scam: $6.5 million dollars paid by a not-yet-named parent to unnamed schools.
(The Times reports that it is a "parent" singular and "schools" plural; INSIDER contacted the US Attorney's Office in Boston for clarification and more information.)
Parents spent anywhere from $200k to $6.5 million to guarantee admissions to elite schools for their children #AdmissionsScam
— U.S. Attorney MA (@DMAnews1) March 12, 2019
This parent was acknowledged by the US Attorney's Office in Boston in a March 12, 2019, tweet, and according to The Times they've been named in a press conference and in court. However, prosecutors are staying mum on who it is.
When reached for comment by the LA Times, Christina Sterling, a spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in Boston said, "The name was not divulged."
"We did not tie the amount to anyone by name," Sterling said. "That is not public." The spokeswoman did not clarify whether the payment was made by somebody already named in court documents.
In total, 33 parents were charged, along with others, including the accused ringleader of the scandal, William Singer, who started the company that facilitated the payments.
Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli allegedly "agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team — despite
the fact that they did not participate in crew — thereby facilitating their admission to USC," according to a criminal complaint.
Former PIMCO CEO Douglas Hodge"agreed to use bribery to facilitate the admission of two of his children to USC as purported athletic recruits, and sought to enlist CW-1 to secure the admission of a third child to college through bribery as well," according to court documents. He allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. (PIMCO notes that Hodge left the company in 2017.)
The fallout has prompted Yale to rescind admission to a student, Loughlin being booted from the Hallmark Channel, and a cancelled collaboration with Sephora and TRESemmé for Loughlin's daughter and influencer, Olivia Jade.
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