translated from Spanish: The bribery scandal to enter universities

is the dream of many parents: seeing their children qualify for some of the most competitive universities in the world.
For many students, that requires years of sacrifice and effort, or lots of money as just discovered in United States.
The Department of Justice in that country accused Tuesday some 50 people, including the actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, of being part of long-standing bribery and fraud plan so that their children from entering some reputable universities.
Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Texas, Southern California, Wake Forest’s or California in Los Angeles are just some of institutions spotted by the scheme, although the authorities discarded the schools institutionally they had some participation.
The fraud occurred in two different ways, according to the researchers: created a sophisticated strategies to make fraud in entrance exams sobornaban to sports coaches to get them to admit at the University to young people who did not have the skills suitable as athletes in a press conference on Tuesday, the FBI alleged that the fraud scheme comprised all the country and stretched from 2011 until last February.
According to prosecutors, during that period, defendants spent more than $25 million for their children from entering these elite study centres.
Getty ImagesYale is another of the elite universities that admitted students thanks to bribes.” This case shows the growing corruption in admissions to universities of elite through wealth combined with fraud,”said attorney general of Boston Andrew Lelling.
According to the authorities, the operation which revealed the case, called Varsity Blues, is more research on issues of education in the history of the Department of Justice: it involved more than 200 officers and led to the arrest of 50 people in six States.
However, argued that the case is not closed and that new involved might appear in the near future.
Who are the main defendants?
According to the FBI, in the center of the investigation is allegedly the entrepreneur William “Rick” Singer, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday afternoon.
Singer managed the fraud through his company Edge College & Career Network, a business of college readiness.
33 parents were charged, as well as 13 college coaches and workers of the Singer company.
Getty ImagesHuffman and Loughlin are among the more than 30 accused parents. Huffman, known for the series “Desperate wives” and Loughlin, one of the actresses in Full House, best known are among those involved.
According to court documents, one of the trainers who cooperated with the investigators worked for Yale University and received more than US$ 400,000 for accepting their team to a student who had no minimum sports skills.
The Department of Justice reported that no student was charged, since the scheme was carried out by parents.
How worked the fraud?
Research points out that Singer instructed clients to facilitate fraud in entrance exams.
The parents then claimed that their children had some disability and required additional time to make the entrance exams or having another event that made it impossible for them to arrive the day of tests for all applicants.
In this way, students made examinations in specific facilities, where already the Singer company had bribed staff to allow them to cheat, ranging from copy to other people to take the test on behalf of the candidates.
Other mechanisms included officials breathed answers or even correct written test during the review process.
How were they operating the bribes?
Mechanisms of bribery took advantage of a fact little known to many outside the United States and it is to that country’s elite universities not only enter by a high academic performance, but also by the relevant sporting qualities.
Most centers of study are sports competitions among them, which requires students with athletic conditions.
In these cases, often are coaches who determine the income of applicants.
Getty ImagesLas universities require students with sports skills for their competitions. The signing of Singer, according to the FBI, then bribed a number of them to get admit some candidates even though they did not have any sports fitness and being pressured to believe the rest of the team dealing with the right person.
Operations had, in addition, is to create so-called athletic student records in which photographs wannabes with the body of athletes taken from internet.
Why the scheme goes beyond the universities?
Researchers explained, the fraud mechanism transcends the educational scandal and they pointed to other crimes such as money laundering and tax evasion.
And it is that according to the FBI, Singer used his organization nonprofit, Worldwide Foundation Key, so that payments parents appear as “charitable”, implying that they can then be deduced tax.
That is why the United States of tax internal service also participated in the investigation and claimed that it will raise charges against the defendants.
Now you can receive notifications of BBC world. Download the new version of our app and activate them so you don’t miss our best content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN-LCGigRIQ&t=25s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_-KV-ydCvA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUGQmcaAGcc thanks for reading! Help us to continue with our work. How? You can now subscribe to political Animal on Facebook. With your monthly donation, you will receive special content. Find out how to subscribe here. Check our list of frequently asked questions here.

Original source in Spanish