Chinese family reportedly paid US$6.5 million to ‘fixer’ for admission into Stanford
- Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times say the Beijing family has not been charged
- The payment was made in the ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ college admissions case, which ensnared families, coaches and administrators across the US
A Chinese family allegedly paid the mastermind of a college admissions cheating scheme US$6.5 million to assure their child’s admission to Stanford University, US news media reported on Wednesday.
The payment is thought to be the largest one made by parents who employed William “Rick” Singer, the owner of the Edge College & Career Network, to secure their children’s admissions into elite US universities. The scheme was revealed in March when federal prosecutors, after a year-long investigation dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues”, filed charges in what was called the Justice Department’s largest-ever college admissions criminal case.
Singer used several techniques, including what he called a “side door”, which often presented the children as sought-after athletes. In many cases, the students never participated in the sports. Singer admitted to taking pay-offs and is cooperating with prosecutors.
According to The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times, which both cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the student who was admitted to Stanford, in Palo Alto, California, was connected to Singer via a contact at the global financial services firm, Morgan Stanley.
The Journal does not name the student or family. The Times and Associated Press identify the student as Yusi “Molly” Zhao.
