The ringleader of the largest college admissions fraud scheme in the United States was sentenced on Wednesday to 42 months in prison for helping wealthy parents secure admission for their children at high-end colleges through bribery and cheating.
Boston-based federal prosecutors sought six years in prison for William “Rick” Singer, a former college admissions consultant who pleaded guilty in March 2019 to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice. Attorneys for Singer sought a six-month maximum sentence, according to court records.
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The mastermind behind the admissions scheme was scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel for sentencing at the federal courthouse in Boston.
Singer, 62, was under investigation by the FBI for years as part of the agency’s “Operation Varsity Blues.” The investigation revealed a cheating ring of roughly 50 defendants, and his plea four years ago helped uncover former clients, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.
Prosecutors also sought for Singer to pay up $10.6 million in restitution to the IRS for his lapsed tax bills and proceeds of his illegal scheme and to forfeit nearly $8.7 million in finances and assets and pay the agency more than $10.6 million in restitution.
Singer worked with authorities in 2018 to help the FBI record calls he placed with clients, which led to the prosecution of dozens of coaches, associates, and parents. While prosecutors said Singer’s cooperation deserved recognition, his crimes should warrant the longest sentence of anyone involved in the scheme.
And his cooperation was riddled with flaws, according to prosecutors. Singer met with at least six of his former clients to warn them about the investigation and was subsequently convicted of obstructing justice.
“He was the architect and mastermind of a criminal enterprise that massively corrupted the integrity of the college admissions process,” prosecutors wrote in the memorandum.
Throughout the yearslong scheme, Singer has paid more than $7 million to bribe officials at schools including Yale University, Stanford University, Georgetown University, and the University of Southern California.
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Since he was released on bail after his guilty plea, Singer now lives in a Florida trailer park and maintains that he’s lost everything through “ignoring what was morally, ethically, and legally right in favor of winning what I perceived was the college admissions ‘game,'” according to court filings.
Ahead of Singer’s sentencing, the toughest punishment handed down in the case went to former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for taking more than $3 million in bribes.
