Share

Ex-Yale coach expected to plead guilty in bribery scheme

Share

BOSTON (AP) — A former women’s soccer coach at Yale University pleaded guilty Thursday to taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for pretending applicants were recruits to boost their chances of getting into the school.

Rudy Meredith, 51, is the third person to plead guilty in the wide-ranging school admissions scandal in which authorities say wealthy parents paid an admissions consultant to rig their children’s test scores and bribe coaches at sought-after schools. Prominent parents charged with paying bribes include actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin .

Meredith, who resigned from Yale in November, began cooperating with the FBI last year after investigators set up a sting in a Boston hotel room and caught him soliciting a $450,000 bribe from a father. He helped investigators unravel the wider bribery scheme by leading them to the admissions consultant, who later agreed to work with investigators and recorded his conversations with parents.

Meredith, wearing sunglasses and a dark suit, said nothing as he and his lawyers fought through a swarm of reporters to leave the federal courthouse in Boston after the hearing. His attorneys declined to comment.

The FBI’s investigation into the admissions scam began after a Los Angeles executive who was under investigation in Boston for securities fraud told authorities that Meredith offered to designate the executive’s daughter as a recruit in exchange for cash, officials say.

Trending:
Lib Host Jon Stewart Overvalued His Home By 829% After Saying Trump Civil Case Is 'Not Victimless'

In April 2018, the executive and Meredith met in a Boston hotel room that was bugged by the FBI.

Authorities say the coach told the father he would help his daughter get into Yale in exchange for $450,000. The executive gave Meredith $2,000 in cash, and another $4,000 was wired to Meredith from a bank account controlled by the FBI, according to court documents.

During the meeting, Meredith also mentioned the admissions consultant, Rick Singer, which was the first time that authorities had heard his name, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen told the judge Thursday.

Meredith began cooperating that same month with investigators, who recorded phone calls between the coach and Singer that revealed the extent of the bribery scheme.

“We had learned through the telephone calls that this obviously wasn’t related to a single bribe or single coach but rather a scheme, a scheme to defraud universities,” Rosen said.

Investigators obtained Meredith’s bank records, which showed that Singer had paid the coach more than $860,000, Rosen said.

In one case, authorities say Meredith accepted a $400,000 bribe to get an applicant admitted as a recruit even though he knew she didn’t play competitive soccer.

Prosecutors say the consultant, Singer, sent Meredith a fake athletic profile that described the student as the co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California. The applicant’s relatives paid Singer about $1.2 million, officials say.

Yale said Monday that it has rescinded the admission of a student linked to the bribery scandal. The school has said it believes Meredith gave “fraudulent athletic endorsements” for only two applicants. The other was denied admission despite Meredith’s endorsement, the school said.

Related:
Former MSNBC Host Chuck Todd Furious After Network Hires Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel

Singer has pleaded guilty to charges including racketeering conspiracy. Meredith pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy charges.

Another coach, Michael Center, also appeared in Boston’s federal court Thursday but didn’t enter a plea. Center, who was the men’s tennis coach at the University of Texas at Austin, is accused of accepting nearly $100,000 to help a non-tennis playing applicant get admitted as a recruit. Once enrolled, the student never played. An email was sent to Center’s attorney Thursday.

Several other coaches pleaded not guilty on Monday, including tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who is accused of getting $2.7 million in bribes to designate at least 12 applicants as recruits to Georgetown and was the personal tennis coach for former first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters.

Loughlin and Huffman are set to make their initial appearances in Boston federal court next week. They have not publicly commented on the allegations.

___

Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://www.twitter.com/aedurkinricher

The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
Share
The Associated Press is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative headquartered in New York City. Their teams in over 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting. They provide content and services to help engage audiences worldwide, working with companies of all types, from broadcasters to brands. Photo credit: @AP on Twitter
The Associated Press was the first private sector organization in the U.S. to operate on a national scale. Over the past 170 years, they have been first to inform the world of many of history's most important moments, from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the bombing of Pearl Harbor to the fall of the Shah of Iran and the death of Pope John Paul.

Today, they operate in 263 locations in more than 100 countries relaying breaking news, covering war and conflict and producing enterprise reports that tell the world's stories.
Location
New York City




Conversation