In the scam gift that keeps on giving, a report Wednesday from the New York Times says federal prosecutors are looking at a new group of parents possibly involved in the college admissions scandal. Fifty people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, were charged in the initial documents from Operation Varsity Blues (the ones where we learned some kids were admitted to college using Photoshopped athletic profiles where they were digitally altered to appear to play certain sports). The possibility that more families will be implicated has generated “ripples of fear through elite circles in Southern California,” the Times also reports.
From the Times:
The prosecutors have informed some of the parents — the exact number is unclear — that they are under investigation in the nation’s largest-ever college admissions probe, according to four defense lawyers. During a trip to Los Angeles in April, the lead prosecutor conferred with lawyers for at least two of these parents.
Apparently concern has spread beyond the families who have already been informed. The investigation has struck fear into the hearts of a number of other parents who are now seeking legal action and trying to figure out how to best protect themselves. Which, well, I guess maybe you should have considered all of that before paying loads of money to get your kid into a college illegally, rather than just paying loads of money to get your kid into a (less “prestigious”) college legally. Prosecutors are reportedly still investigating an unnamed, and as yet uncharged, family that paid $6.5 million to have their child recruited as an athlete, according to the Times.
Huffman and 13 others have already pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest-services mail fraud. She’ll face between four and ten months in prison, as well as a fine and restitution. Lori Loughlin and her husband, designer Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded not guilty. Sources close to the family said the couple wasn’t fully aware of the seriousness of the charges, and the potential sentences.
