The identity of a parent who spent millions in the nationwide college bribery scheme remains a mystery as authorities have opted not to publicly name the person.
According to authorities, the parent paid $6.5 million in bribes to William “Rick” Singer, who orchestrated the scheme.
“The name was not divulged,” Christina Sterling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, said in an email statement to the Los Angeles Times. “We did not tie the amount to anyone by name. That is not public.”
It isn’t clear if the mystery person was among the 33 parents already charged in the scheme, but since the other parents were named and the amounts paid were made public, it’s considered unlikely. In addition, the $6.5 million is much higher than the amounts the other parents paid.
U.S. attorney Andrew Lelling said at a March 12 press conference announcing the indictments against Singer, the parents, and university officials, including athletic coaches, that there could be more people charged in the future.
The sting was dubbed Operation Varsity Blues by the authorities.
According to court documents, Singer had more than 700 clients.
Sources told the Times that prosecutors have sent subpoenas to high schools in southern California with the names of students whose parents have not been charged as of yet, suggesting that more parents will be charged. At least some of those parents and those attorneys have been informed by authorities that they’re being investigated.
There are also other people caught in the scheme who have not been identified.
In the charging documents, prosecutors said that the family of a person identified as “Yale Applicant One” paid Singer $1.2 million to falsely portray the applicant, a female, as a soccer recruit.
No children were identified by name in the documents but most parents were, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, as well as Loughlin’s husband Mossimo Giannulli.
Singer, officials said, ran the Edge College & Career Network, known as the Key Worldwide Foundation, which accepted donations from parents in exchange for getting their children into elite colleges as athletic recruits, despite the children not playing sports at a competitive level and sometimes not showing up at even one practice once they were accepted into the universities.
Singer also arranged for two associates to help prospective student’s get better scores SAT and ACT exams, with the help of two testing administrators.
Authorities said that Mark Riddell, 36, secretly took the exams for some students, while for others he’d take their completed tests and replace some of the answers.
Parents would donate to Singer’s foundation, and he’d funnel money to Riddell, the administrators, athletic coaches, and college employees.
Singer pleaded guilty to a number of charges on March 12, and Riddell also admitted that he was involved in the scheme.
“I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my needless actions. I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process,” Riddell said in a statement.
“I assume full responsibility for what I have done. I do, however, want to clarify an assertion that has arisen in the media coverage. I absolutely, unequivocally never bribed anyone, nor has the information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged me with any form of bribery. I will always regret the choices I made, but I also believe that the more than one thousand students I legitimately counseled, inspired, and helped reach their goals in my career will paint a more complete picture of the person I truly am.”
