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Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin College Scandal

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college scandal

Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin have landed themselves in some really hot water over a college scandal. These famous women, and others in the financial stratosphere bracket, have been indicted for being involved with a college bribery scam. This scam involved falsified SAT’s scores and fake athletic achievements as a way for their children to gain college admittance into Ivy League schools. And they’re not the only ones…

Who are the key players in this college scandal?

I knew that Jussie Smollet wouldn’t have to wait long before the next big scandal broke out. What I didn’t know was how quickly it would happen. Less than a week after Smollet was indicted, Huffman and Loughlin faced their own indictments. But they’re not the only ones who are front-and-center stage now.

The key players:

  • William Rick Singer, college scandal mastermind and business connoisseur
  • Morrie Tobin, financier
  • Rudolph “Rudy” Meredith, former women’s soccer coach at Yale University
  • Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, famous actresses
  • Thirty one other parents, most of them high-profile

How the college scandal broke open

Morrie Tobin was in his own tub of hot water. He knew he was facing harsh sentencing for securities fraud. He also knew he had information that the FBI would find interesting. In a bid for leniency, Tobin told the FBI that he had been approached by Rudy Meredith for a bribe. In exchange for the bribe, Meredith would guarantee that Tobin’s daughter would gain entrance to an Ivy League school.

Mo Money Mo problems  — The Notorious B.I.G.

Tobin agreed to wear a wire in an undercover sting to bust Meredith. Once Meredith was caught, he turned on Singer, the mastermind of the scheme. As the saying goes, “There is no honor among theives.” The yearlong sting culminated in the arrest of Singer, college coaches, and 33 wealthy parents. Tobin’s cooperation broke open the largest college admissions scam to date.

Who is William Singer?

William Rick Singer is the CEO of The Key. Ironically, The Key is a referral-based company aimed at  helping the children of wealthy families enter Ivy League colleges. The 58 year old co-founded a profitable online school and was a senior executive at The Money Store/First Union Bank. He was also executive vice-president of West Corporation, CEO of ICICI Bank, and a published author. The problem with these credentials is that they may not be true. The potential certainly exists that Singer was not on the up-and-up when he was a successful businessman. In fact, based on what is coming to light, we can safely assume that he did not become successful honorably. Like I tell my kids, if you’re proven a liar, everything you have ever said or ever will say, will be questionable.

According to Andrew Lelling, the US attorney for Massachusettes, Singer was paid approximately $25 million in bribes to help the children of wealthy families dishonestly gain admission to the country’s best schools.

The fallout

The key players listed above have all been indicted. There are currently several pictures of Felicity Huffman going to and from the courthouse. Lori Loughlin’s daughter has been painted as a privileged, self-absorbed and clueless teen. To be fair, we can paint a lot of teens that way. And I’m pretty sure that was me when I was a teenager. Still, there’s no disputing that the rich and famous live under a microscope. And what you put on social media gets chewed up, swallowed, and regurgitated by the public forever. And ever. Loughlin and Huffman have shut down their social media sites.

I put all the people in place.    –William Singer

The children of those indicted and the schools with participating bribery suspects will not be punished under the assumption that they had no idea what was going on. On the other hand, the affected colleges fired those who were involved with the scam.

The worst of the fallout is the opportunities that were taken away from deserving middle class and under-privileged kids. The lower classes are expected to gain access to wealthy institutions through merit. But those parents who were indicted maybe didn’t trust their kids would have what it took.

What happens now?

I have to give it to Singer. He seems to be owning what he has done. He said, “I put all the people in place”. Singer has plead guilty to charges of money laundering, racketeering, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

So, crime did pay…at least for a little while. But Singer is facing up to 65 years in prison. I personally hope he does time. Until our government cracks down on white collar crime, the rich will in fact, keep getting richer while the poor stay poor and fill our prisons.. The compassionate person in me feels bad for the public humiliation the actresses are suffering. But I feel worse for the kids whose college placements were stolen from them.

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