I always thought this should have been handled as a civil case between the colleges and the students/parents. Other than the tax fraud element of this (which did exist), there was no reason for the government, and especially the federal government, to get involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Wasabibill:
I'm not, by writing this, excusing their behavior. These people are wealthy, self-entitled and consider themselves "Elite". That said, they were overcharged. Doing jail time for lying on an application to attend college is disproportionate, cruel, and unusual. The prosecutors added on additional charges in an effort to intimidate them to plead guilty. What they did was wrong but sending them to jail for this isn't, in my mind, the right level of punishment.

quote:

Originally posted by Wasabibill:
That said, they were overcharged.

That's why you should always use a credit card when bribing someone.

quote:

Originally posted by Wasabibill:
These people are wealthy, self-entitled and consider themselves "Elite".

What, then, would be the appropriate punishment?
A $50,000 fine for me would be devastating. For them? “Eh … let me write you a check from the local account.”

By coincidence I was just this morning thinking about the fact that there was a proposal in Germany (IIRC) to scale traffic fines on the basis of offenders’ incomes: The richer one is, the greater the fine for a specific offense. I don’t know whether that was ever adopted, but it made sense to me.

One of the reasons our criminal “justice” system is broken is that many people have nothing to fear from the consequences of their crimes. Most commonly it’s the offenders who commit crime after crime and who don’t care much whether they get caught. The taxpayers foot all their bills if they are caught and although the criminals may not like the other penalties, they don’t fear them very much, if at all. But there are others who don’t fear getting caught for relatively minor crimes because the possible penalties are insignificant to them. They have plenty of money to pay all the legal expenses and possible fines, and again although they may not like the inconvenience of it all, that’s all it is to them.

Getting caught and convicted of a crime should hurt, or the entire concept of penalties being for the purpose of preventing crime would be toothless. As George Savile put it, “Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen.”

The obvious rejoinder is, “Well, what about [this crime or that crime]?” All I can say to that is, Welcome to the real world and two wrongs don’t make a right.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:


By coincidence I was just this morning thinking about the fact that there was a proposal in Germany (IIRC) to scale traffic fines on the basis of offenders’ incomes: The richer one is, the greater the fine for a specific offense.

This is how fines are assessed in Sweden. I'm a criminal defense attorney so take this for what it's worth, but to me criminal fines are much like laws against sleeping under bridges, they apply to the rich and the poor alike.

When news of this big FBI “bust“ broke, it is a shame that the then leading top news story at the time, that of the exposure of ‘The Squad’ being virulently anti-Semitic and the lack of desire of Nancy Pelosi and the collective congressional ilk to do anything meaningful about it, was wiped completely off of the headlines for at least two months to cover this garbage.

Imagine that?!

Everyone knows that (some of) the wealthy and connected pay their way to get to the front of the line, irregardless of legality and ethics.

The elite dopes caught up in this were at the right place at the wrong time, and they must be downright pissed off for being held to account for doing things that nobody else in their circles are.

Singer to be sentenced Monday. His attorneys want 6 months. Six years and hefty fines is more like it.

Who?

It's an old thread. You got to make with the explanation.

Ressurection of a necro-thread. Who would have ever thought that justice would be delayed in a case like this? I haven't seen pics of Lori or Felicity in their orange Givenchy's yet. My bad, seems like I missed Lori getting convicted and serving two months in prison, Nov. and Dec. 2020, must have been something else going on at the time....

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Singer to be sentenced Monday. His attorneys want 6 months. Six years and hefty fines is more like it.

Rick Singer the mastermind of the Varsity Blues case will sentenced in Federal Court on January 4th. Here is a brief summation:
https://www.wsjm.com/2022/12/2...iency-with-sentence/

More details here:

College admissions scandal mastermind says he now lives in a trailer park and can't get a job because of the scheme

The consultant at the center of the nationwide college admissions scandal blamed his “winning at all costs” attitude, which he said was caused in part by suppressed childhood trauma, for his actions in a letter to the judge scheduled to sentence him next week.

William “Rick” Singer, 62, who pleaded guilty in March 2019 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy, is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 4 in U.S. District Court in Boston for running the scheme that federal investigators dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.

More than 50 people, including parents, coaches, and others, have already been convicted in the case that involved bribes, embellished athletic accomplishments, and entrance exam cheating to get often undeserving children from wealthy families into some of the most selective universities in the U.S.


In documents submitted to the court on Wednesday, prosecutors asked the judge to give Singer six years, which would be by far the longest sentence in the case. Defense attorneys asked for a year of home confinement, or a maximum of six months behind bars.

“For most of my life, if not all of it, I have thrived on winning at all costs,” Singer wrote in a letter included in his defense’s sentencing memorandum. “My moral compass was broken and, increasingly over time, choosing right over wrong became less important than doing whatever had to be done to be recognized as the ‘best.’”

He expressed remorse in the letter, said he now lives in a trailer park for seniors and can’t get a job despite more than 1,000 attempts.

By getting caught, he has been provided “the opportunity for insight, atonement, and redemption,” he wrote.

His attorneys, citing Singer’s acceptance of responsibility, his cooperation with the government’s investigation, and his lifetime of helping children, recommended a sentence of one year of home confinement, three years of probation and 750 hours of community service. If the judge decides prison time is warranted, they asked for a maximum of six months behind bars.


New documentary ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ looks at college admissions scandal
MARCH 16, 202103:22
“His unwanted notoriety has left him unemployable, depriving him of his self-esteem,” the defense wrote. “He has tried to rebuild by volunteering in his community. He has boundless energy and ideas about programming for youth and the underserved. He would be an asset to society if permitted after sentencing to continue his community service efforts.”

One of Singer’s attorneys, Candice Fields, said in an email Thursday that she did not have any further comment.

Recommended



Singer took in more than $25 million from his clients, paid bribes totaling more than $7 million, and used more than $15 million of his clients’ money for his own benefit, according to prosecutors, who said his pivotal role in the scandal merits a six-year sentence.

“Staggering in scope, Singer’s scheme was also breathtaking in its audacity and the levels of deception it involved,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum. “His corruption and manipulation of others were practically limitless. Singer is far and away the most culpable of the Varsity Blues defendants — by orders of magnitude — and is therefore deserving of the longest sentence,” despite his cooperation with investigators, they said.

Prosecutors also asked for three years of probation, nearly $11 million in restitution to the IRS, and forfeiture of about $8.7 million.

A voicemail seeking comment was left with a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.

The longest sentence in the case so far has gone to former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who got 2 1/2 years in prison for pocketing more than $3 million in bribes.


LINK: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/u...-park-cant-rcna63623

Lessee... Accepted $25 million, and paid out $7 million in bribes.

That's $18 million.

Now has to forfeit ~$9 million.

That's $9 million remaining.

But yet his sob story is that the Judge should be lenient because he's broke and has to live in a trailer park? Must have already spent every penny of that $9 million on hookers and blow. Boo hoo.

I'd mostly forgotten about this until it popped up here today.
I think the two actors are in and out a long time ago and got fined a bit but not much else seemed to happen to anyone else besides the Singer guy.
Sort of like the many Epstein Island folks.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not so. The tennis coach got some serious time and many of the others lost their CEO jobs.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not so. The tennis coach got some serious time and many of the others lost their CEO jobs.

here is a link to the full list. Remember pleading guilty to a felony means the loss of licenses etc.

https://www.insider.com/colleg...parent-agustin-hunee

^^^^^^
That was a long list but very few got serious jail time. Some days, most a few months that would serve less as first time offenders.
On the other hand, many violent criminals get punished less, considering the seriousness of their crimes. Makes you wonder about the priorities of the prosecutors.
Most of these people should be embarrassed more by how much they paid and what they got. They should have paid that money for some remedial academic help for their children rather than an attempt at a fluff degree in less than top shelf schools.

I went through the entire list, looks like one CEO lost his job, a few others may have just retired. Did not notice anyone receive a felony and lost their professional license.

Mail fraud, a felony, carries a sentence of up to five years in prison and/or fines of up to $250,000 when individuals are involved and up to 30 years in prison and/or $1,000,000 in fines when a financial institution is involved.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Honest services fraud is a felony crime, with a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for individuals, along with three years of supervised release.Sep 2, 2021

Caplan has been unable to practice law since November 2019, after he served a month in prison for his role in the largest college admissions scam ever uncovered in the United States.

He was reinstated to practice in NY. Most attorneys are not that lucky.

For Clsteve:

A radiation oncologist embroiled in the 2019 "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions scandal may lose his medical license after being convicted, fined, and sentenced to 8 weeks in prison.


The California Medical Board in September filed a first amended accusation against Gregory Colburn, MD, of Palo Alto, for unprofessional conduct and ethical violations tied to his involvement in the scheme. As a result, Colburn could see his license suspended or revoked. His professional experience includes serving as a medical director at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, according to his LinkedIn profile.

LOS ANGELES — A Beverly Hills real estate developer who pleaded guilty three years ago to federal charges stemming from a nationwide college-admissions cheating scandal died by suicide in his Malibu home, officials confirmed Thursday.

According to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, Robert Flaxman, 66, was found dead in his residence on the 3200 block of Serra Road about 10:15 a.m. Oct. 20.

Rick Singer, 'Operation Varsity Blues' college admissions scandal mastermind, sentenced to 42 months in prison
Link