Family in China paid $6.5 million to college admissions fixer for a spot at Stanford, sources say

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-college-admissions-scandal-stanford-20190501-story.html

Family in China paid $6.5 million to college admissions fixer for a spot at Stanford, sources say

By Joel Rubin and Matthew Ormseth

May 02, 2019 | 12:15 PM
  
The family of a Chinese student admitted to Stanford paid $6.5 million to the man at the heart of the college admissions scandal, whom they met through a Morgan Stanley financial advisor, sources familiar with the case told The Times. Yusi Zhao, who also goes by Molly, was admitted to Stanford in the spring of 2017, and her family, who live in Beijing, paid Newport Beach college consultant William “Rick” Singer the seven-figure sum for the work he did to get their daughter into the highly selective school, according to sources familiar with the case. The sources requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

No one in the family has been charged in the scandal and it’s unclear how much the parents or their daughter knew about steps Singer was taking to secure the girl a spot at the university. A message sent to Zhao was not returned and her parents could not immediately be reached for comment.
(snip)

To ensure Zhao was admitted to Stanford, Singer targeted the school’s sailing program, putting her forth as a competitive sailor despite there being no indication she competed in the sport, sources familiar with the case said. It was not immediately known with whom Singer worked inside the university. Stanford’s former sailing coach, John Vandemoer, has pleaded guilty to racketeering and admitted to working with Singer.

The $6.5-million figure has stood out for its size since prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston unveiled their case in March and said an unnamed client of Singer’s paid the eye-catching amount. While 33 parents have been charged so far in a sprawling investigation of fraud and deceit in the college admission process, none is accused of spending sums that even approach what Zhao’s family are said to have paid.
(snip)