Shutterstock
Entrance into college is one of the most eventful times of a high school student’s life. The acceptance letter is a symbol that all the student’s hard work over the past four years has paid off. Getting into elite colleges is tough for any student, but some celebrities are trying to cheat the system, according to NBC News.
Full House’s Lori Loughlin and Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman are among the 44 people being charged in a huge college entrance exam cheating scheme. The plot of the scheme is to get students admitted to elite universities as recruited athletes, to help these students cheat on the college exams. These students could have no athletic ability, but the scheme is to use the student-athlete platform to get students into elite colleges.
The schools mentioned in the scheme are some of the top academic institutions in the US as Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Wake Forest, Texas, Yale and the University of San Diego. With the exception of Yale and San Diego, all the universities mentioned play in high-level athletic conferences that generate millions of dollars for the schools every year.
Some parents spent up to $6.5 million for guaranteed college admission for their children, according to Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Field Office.
“Their actions were, without a doubt, insidious, selfish and shameful.” https://t.co/au6ASJiHqd pic.twitter.com/pDiqYZYodA
— CNN (@CNN) March 12, 2019
The universities involved in the case look to be in the clear as reports have not found any wrongdoing.
Loughlin and Huffman are both charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. The FBI caught the two actresses on a phone call with a witness in the large-scale scheme. Representatives for both celebrities did not comment about their involvement in the college entrance exam scheme.
Coaches involved include:
Among coaches indicted (some current, some former): Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer, Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith, Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, several USC coaches, UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo, Texas men's tennis coach Michael Center.
— Aaron Leibowitz (@aaron_leib) March 12, 2019
Loughlin and Huffman are not the only surprising names charged in the scheme as a couple of college coaches are involved as well. Their names have not been released, but their simple involvement in the scheme definitely brings up a conflict of interest. The final results of the scheme have not finished yet, but the high profile colleges and people involved in it means that the investigation is far from over.
