(ConservativeHub.com) – Parents typically want the best for their children. From seeking out enriching activities to ensuring they have all the snuggles they need, people can invest in their kids in many different ways. But, some people take this desire for success a bit too far. One man capitalized on this and now finds himself behind bars.
Authorities Open Up About Operation Varsity Blues
In 2019, news spread that some Hollywood stars and American business elites were paying exorbitant amounts of money to get their kids admitted to some of the nation’s top colleges, including the University of Southern California and Georgetown University in Washington, DC. The whole scandal centered on William Singer, also known as Rick, who pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy, a racketeering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to defraud the US.
Authorities in Boston, Massachusetts, first learned about these corrupt plans to pay for college admission when someone came forward telling them a soccer coach from Yale University offered to get his daughter into the school if he provided a cash payment. This coach then told the investigators about Singer, who orchestrated the whole plan in the first place.
Knowing he broke the law, Singer began working with the FBI to line up evidence against dozens of parents and University personnel giving and taking bribes to get kids into the colleges. However, the informant stayed out of prison himself — until now.
Judge Sentences Singer to Years in Prison
On Wednesday, January 4, a judge sentenced Singer to 42 months, or three and a half years, in prison and three years of supervised release afterward. The sentence was shorter than the six years federal prosecutors were hoping for but longer than the minimum prison time the defense sought.
BREAKING: Rick Singer, 'Operation Varsity Blues' college admissions scandal mastermind, sentenced to 42 months in prisonhttps://t.co/bNUYBgayLr
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 4, 2023
US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts declared that the man has “finally been held accountable,” according to CBS News. He must also pay over $19 million, around half of which he’ll remit to the IRS, the rest of which will go towards forfeitures of assets.
Singer understood what he did was wrong. In a letter to the judge, he acknowledged his “winning at all costs” mindset did him in — an attitude he blamed on issues from childhood. According to NPR, court documents revealed he said he felt “shame, remorse, and regret” every day for his actions.
The three-and-a-half-year sentence is the longest of those charged in the Operation Varsity Blues case. Reports say Singer collected over $25 million from various clients, distributed over $7 million in bribes, and pocketed at least $15 million for himself.
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