Southern California Elites Panic as Prosecutors Tease Charges Against New Families in College Scandal
Southern California elites fear they could be targeted next as prosecutors move to investigate more families linked to the college bribery scandal.
Seven defense lawyers and more than 12 parents at Los Angeles private schools described this fear, The New York Times reported Wednesday. It is unclear exactly how many additional parents were added to the investigation.
“I can confirm that the investigation remains active, including potentially charging additional defendants,” Christina Sterling, spokeswoman for the office of the United States attorney for the District of Massachusetts, said, according to The Times.
Some parents are afraid their ties with William “Rick” Singer, who is at the center of the case, will be revealed, The Times reported.
Singer ran the phony Key Worldwide Foundation charity that facilitated the bribes in exchange for the children getting acceptance into the nation’s top schools.
The scandal involved cheating on the SAT and ACT college entry tests and bribing athletic coaches.
Some parents have already been issued subpoenas regarding bank records and phone logs, The Times reported.
Several parents who hired Singer, but have not heard from any prosecutors, are unsure if they should keep low profiles or admit themselves to officials. Some have also hired lawyers.
“For many of these people, this is the only thing they can think about,” a Los Angeles defense lawyer representing multiple parents who have not been charges said, according to The Times.
Thirty-three parents have so far been charged in the scandal, The Times reported.
“Full House” star Lori Loughlin and “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman were the two celebrity parents embroiled in the scandal announced by the Justice Department in March.
Parents at Los Angeles’s exclusive private schools began questioning whether some families had Singer’s help in gaining admissions into the colleges, The New York Times reported.
One mother, whose child is a junior at a school where families hired Singer, grew cynical.
“It’s terrible to cast doubt on these children’s real achievements but you wonder, ‘Who cheated?” she said, according to The Times.
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