Nationwide College Cheating Scandal - Actresses, Business Owners Charged, Mar 2019 - #2

[neesaki]

As Lori Loughlin’s legal problems mount, she faces a fateful choice in college admissions scandal

 

[gitana1]

In college scandal, rowing was the ideal sport for stowaways, cheating

In college scandal, rowing was the ideal sport for stowaways, cheating, lies

So true - "But one pastime was particularly suited to Singer’s scheme. According to court documents, when it came to helping Giannulli and Loughlin, he turned to a sport with large rosters, little fan or media scrutiny, and wide latitude in recruiting female athletes — as well as one position that requires little physicality."

These people really need to go to jail. My God. They lie about their daughter's participation in rowing and when someone at the high school questions it, the dad goes to the school in a rage, yelling.

His daughter is confirmed thereafter as a coxswain despite never having participated in the sport.

Man.

Compare these people to The Boys in the Boat.

 

[gitana1]

It is really sad that people, especially teenagers and younger people worship celebrities: so many of them are vapid, entitled empty vessels. They have beauty but sadly, twisted values-- they basically live in a sub-culture where they can pretty much do and say anything because it is acceptable in the hollywood setting. This scandal has pulled off the mask of respectability
of those involved, and revealed who they really are and it ain't pretty.

I think it's because many who have the drive necessary to continue on and make it in the business are narcissists. The narcissism fuels them. So you get a lot of empty vessels in acting. And many whomdont start out that way can become that way after years of adulation mixed with panic at becoming irrelevant.

But lest we forget, out of the 50 or so people in the list, only TWO were Hollywood. The rest were all ultra rich business executives, business owners, developers, investors, doctors/lawyers, etc.

Only two were from Hollywood. The only two names we recognize BECAUSE they're from Hollywood.

The rest are filthy rich people acting like filthy rich people often do - they're above the rules. Morality and ethics don't apply to them.

Here are ALL the parents involved:

* Gamal Abdelaziz, a senior executive of a resort and casino operator


* Gregory and Marcia Abbott. Gregory is the founder and chairman of a packaging company for the food and beverage industry, and the former head of a private-label clothing manufacturer


* Diane Blake, an executive at a retail merchandising firm, and Todd Blake, entrepreneur and investor


* Jane Buckingham, chief executive of a boutique marketing company


* Gordon Caplan, a lawyer and a co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher


* I-Hsin “Joey” Chen, a provider of warehousing and related services for the shipping industry


* Amy and Gregory Colburn. Gregory is a physician.


* Robert Flaxman, chief executive of a Los Angeles-based real estate development firm


* Mossimo Giannulli, fashion designer, and Lori Loughlin, actress


* Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez. Manuel was the founder, chairman and chief executive of Hercules Capital. 


* Douglas Hodge, former chief executive of Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond fund managers


* Felicity Huffman, actress


* Agustin Huneeus, owner of vineyards in Napa, Calif.


* Bruce and Davina Isackson. Bruce is the president of a real estate development firm.


* Michelle Janavs, a former executive of a food manufacturer


* Elisabeth Kimmel, owner of a media company


* Marjorie Klapper, co-owner of a jewelry business 


* Toby MacFarlane, a former senior executive at a title insurance company


* William E. McGlashan Jr., a senior executive at TPG, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms


* Marci Palatella, chief executive of a liquor distributor


* Peter Jan “P.J.” Sartorio, a packaged-food entrepreneur


* Stephen Semprevivo, an executive at Cydcor, an outsourcing company 


* David Sidoo, president and chief executive of Advantage Lithium Corp., a lithium explorer and developer, and an executive at East West Petroleum Corp., an oil and gas company. Both are based in Canada. 


* Devin Sloane, founder and chief executive of Aquatecture, a drinking water and wastewater systems business


* John Wilson, founder and chief executive of a private-equity and real estate development firm


* Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at U.S.C.


* Robert Zangrillo, founder and chief executive of a Miami-based venture capital and real estate firm


 

[gitana1]

I really love rich, entitled people. They are absolutely fascinating to armchair diagnose while talking to them. Narcissism, sociopathy, grandiose speech, and they don't even have a clue about their pathological behavior. Beverly Hills is rife with people like this. Dealing with people who think they are royalty, and everyone else is a serf, is quite entertaining when you have the ability to cut down their self inflated egos. Then, they scramble to collect their attitude. And they realize the fact that they are not royalty.

Huffman is there. Waiting for Loughlin to fall.

I don't know that Huffman is there. I think she's smarter than Loughlin and Mossimo. But she may also have better attorneys with better client control.

Anyone who would do this to begin with is a rat. And Huffman is one of the biggest hypocrites of them all as she has advocated publicly for educational equality. What? And then this?

(Loughlin is also a massive hypocrite by talking about the importance of her "faith" yet committing fraud).

 

[gitana1]

What continually resonates with me is the fact that these parents refused to acknowledge that their children weren't smart enough to get into highly competitive colleges. It saddens me to think that parents are so disappointed in their offspring's abilities that they will go to extremes to avoid having others find out that their children couldn't get into these prestigious schools.

Yes!! But appearance is everything to these empty vessels. Appearance and status.

What's wrong with your kid making their own way? Attending a lesser known college? A state university? Or even a community college transferring to a university when they've done the work?

Or not going to college at all because they're not interested and have work they can do instead?

It's shameful how they've branded their kids.

It's also embarrassing that they have every advantage in the world that most of us don't- excellent private schools from preschool on, all the money in the world for the fanciest of extracurriculars, private tutors and expensive test prep- and they still have to resort to fraud and bribery to get their kids into a decent college?

Gross. They raised entitled, lazy jerks and now everyone knows it.

 

[gitana1]

I thought it might be him as well. Below bolded by me.

Without his name the LA Times wrote this, "At the start of the new year, Singer sent Meredith, who had coached the Yale soccer team for more than two decades, a check for $400,000, drawn on the Key Worldwide Foundation charity account.

It was Meredith’s actions that led to the scam’s unraveling. Prosecutors say he solicited $450,000 from another parent, who had previously been charged with securities fraud and promptly gave up the coach’s offer, eventually wearing a concealed microphone during a payoff meeting with Meredith in April 2018. The coach ultimately told federal prosecutors of his deal with Singer.

Yale said in a statement that one of two students linked in court records to the scam was admitted and currently attends the university, while the other was denied entry." Mystery parent paid $6.5 million to get kids into top universities as part of admissions scandal

It just seems like a long way from 450K to 6.5 million. So then I thought we still have not "met" the 6.5 million dollar criminal.

ETA: I would love to see the 6.5 million winner's perp walk. Anxiously waiting.

Hasn't the complaint been released?

ETA: It has been. Here it is. (I don't have time to read it): College Admissions Scandal Complaint

 

[gitana1]

I was thinking the same thing as you expressed in your post. I think parents like this are narcissistic, because what it really says is, that the way the parents see it, if their kids aren't smart enough to get into a highly competitive college, it reflects on them (the parents)---- so they cannot accept that they (the parents) have children that aren't as smart as they want their children to be, so they feel they ( the parents) must be lacking and they can't deal with that.

Yes!!

 

[gitana1]

I think the kids are smart enough - but they haven't been educated enough. I get the vibe that they weren't spending their nights and weekends writing research papers or figuring out trig questions that would prepare them for the exams. Cut classes, probably...weren't serious students in high school, which meant the tests would be very difficult.

What are you doing to put on a college app if your grades are bad and test scores are low? Fake info, that's what.

Plus, there is the whole habit of paying people to do stuff you don't want to do. Laundry, cooking, applying to college = all the same boring type of task that someone else can be hired to do.

The scandal shows poor work ethic more than lack of ability, imo.

And it's not as if they're lazy. Looking good all the time takes work and lots of time. Their priority simply isn't on academics....but they want to LOOK like academics are so easy for them that they can get high scores while at the same time vlog, travel, hang out with pretty people.

jmo

I don't know. It doesn't take as much energy to concentrate on their favorite subject - themselves. People who are obsessed with appearance love make up and clothes and shopping and vlogging about themselves and taking endless selfies for all the world to see.

I would never compare that to burning the midnight oil slogging through material that is difficult to comprehend or not that interesting or entertaining.

 

[gitana1]

I think it's more that the parents are worshiping the veneer of intelligence and accomplishment that a degree from an elite university gives. Almost as if it's the "must-have" designer outfit or the cool car.

It's just a status possession.

The quality of the education and the match of the educational experience to the child's talents or interests seems to have no value whatsoever. It's not as if they need the USC degree to continue on to become an architect, a physicist, a philosphy faculty member, a pediatric surgeon. Nothing like this. Few of the cheating scandal kids are expected to do anything but perform adequately in their social strata.

The families have some various expectations, but the Gianulli's is infuriating to me because part of it just seems to be Loughlin's legitimacy to fly USC flags at their house, to have USC license plates on their car, to attend USC functions. For Lori, it's all about HER, not even for her daughters. I do pity Olivia, who does seem to be caught in the middle. For all the shallowness and vapidity of her vlog site, it is something she has done and evidently done well in the world of shallowness and vapidity in which she orbits. She made no false claims and did have protestastions about the USC plan, but I'll bet she went along with it once her parents presented the social lubricant it would give her. And indeed, she was well on her way Spring Breaking on a billionaire's yacht.

But she really wanted to go to ASU, which IS known as a party school. Can you imagine the cocktail hour talk with Hollywood movers and shakers if asked where Olivia and Isabella were going to school. Once the word "Arizona State" was mentioned, there would be the most awkward icy pause in the conversation. The word would doom the Gianulli's to the kitchen gossip in their social circle. I think some parents could deal with this: " Oh Richy is unique, he just really wants to go to Arizona State and study desert wildlife." But Mossimo had already marched into the high school counselor and demanded his daughters were USC material. Whatever.

In my business, a degree from USC just engenders a big eye roll.

There is nothing magical about these children or these parents. They just have vast amounts of money. And as we continually see, the love of that money is the root of all evil. Even the evil you bring upon yourself, as these parents have.

And don't forget! Not just any yacht:

The yacht of Rick Caruso, the chairman of USC's Board of Trustees.

 

[scdiv]

I don't know that Huffman is there. I think she's smarter than Loughlin and Mossimo. But she may also have better attorneys with better client control.

Anyone who would do this to begin with is a rat. And Huffman is one of the biggest hypocrites of them all as she has advocated publicly for educational equality. What? And then this?

(Loughlin is also a massive hypocrite by talking about the importance of her "faith" yet committing fraud).

I don't know that Huffman is there either. I think a talented publicist, crisis manager, or very smart friend is the one who recognized that and wrote an extremely on point, humble, and responsibility-taking statement for her to release! The only thing I can say with confidence about Huffman is that she was smart enough to find someone who nailed that statement and trust that it would hit the right tone.

I don't know that there is any true substance or remorse behind it, but I'll give her some points for going with it. You would think that's a given, but when you look at Lori and Moss stumbling and bumbling their ways through even public perception and self-awareness, apparently it's not.

 

[Justsayn]

I hope that each kid that was admitted through this scheme, is kicked out. If they are allowed to attend, then the college is just as guilty as the parents are.

Once this scheme came to light, the students do not have the right or privilege of continuing in their chosen university. More than likely, 95% of the students were aware of what their parents had done to get them accepted.
The students carried no shame - the parents have always made sure their child had whatever they wanted.

My opinion only.

This upsets me because my daughter busted her butt through her school career and then unto college and now on to grad. School. While these other kids buy their way in.without doing the work that is needed to secure the spot. I am disgusted.

 

[Herat]

And don't forget! Not just any yacht:

The yacht of Rick Caruso, the chairman of USC's Board of Trustees.

And this is EXACTLY why the Gianullis wanted their kids in USC.

Both Lori and Mossimo want to be the ones schmoozing with billionaire Rick Caruso, and all his other influential friends who can introduce them to a new level of social elite. Whether it was to keep pushing Olivia's vlog site to market more and more products to that lucrative market, or for their own self-identification to breath that yacht's rarified air.

The Gianullis are worth about $100 million ($50 million in some other estimates). They well know that Kylie Jenner's influencer and marketing position has made her a billionaire. I am quite sure that preys on the minds of the Gianullis. ASU would not offer OJ (or parents) anywhere near as much interaction with very influential people who could help promote her vlog /influencer business much closer to the stratospheric one of Jenner. It was never about what OJ wanted, it was always about what her parents wanted

So (IMHO) not only were the Gianullis trying to promote their children into a prestigious school, they were trying to promote themselves into an even higher stratum of wealth.

But now that vision of Xanadu is falling to pieces. Pleading guilty to money-laundering and fraud, ending in a prison sentence will not bring back the billionaire and their yachts. Martha Stewart may have recovered, but she had a lot more personal resources and her brand was not substantially damaged.

Lori's brand has already been trashed. She isn't going to go back as the star and producer of sweetie pie Hallmark movies. And she's likely trashed the rising career of OJ, too.

 

[gitana1]

This upsets me because my daughter busted her butt through her school career and then unto college and now on to grad. School. While these other kids buy their way in.without doing the work that is needed to secure the spot. I am disgusted.

Yes. As every parent of a child who worked hard to get in should! It's terrible. Read this language from the complaint. It's sick:

 

[gitana1]

And this is EXACTLY why the Gianullis wanted their kids in USC.

Both Lori and Mossimo want to be the ones schmoozing with billionaire Rick Caruso, and all his other influential friends who can introduce them to a new level of social elite. Whether it was to keep pushing Olivia's vlog site to market more and more products to that lucrative market, or for their own self-identification to breath that yacht's rarified air.

The Gianullis are worth about $100 million ($50 million in some other estimates). They well know that Kylie Jenner's influencer and marketing position has made her a billionaire. I am quite sure that preys on the minds of the Gianullis. ASU would not offer OJ (or parents) anywhere near as much interaction with very influential people who could help promote her vlog /influencer business much closer to the stratospheric one of Jenner. It was never about what OJ wanted, it was always about what her parents wanted

So (IMHO) not only were the Gianullis trying to promote their children into a prestigious school, they were trying to promote themselves into an even higher stratum of wealth.

But now that vision of Xanadu is falling to pieces. Pleading guilty to money-laundering and fraud, ending in a prison sentence will not bring back the billionaire and their yachts. Martha Stewart may have recovered, but she had a lot more personal resources and her brand was not substantially damaged.

Lori's brand has already been trashed. She isn't going to go back as the star and producer of sweetie pie Hallmark movies. And she's likely trashed the rising career of OJ, too.

OJ will be fine. She's rich, thin and beautiful. Her fans are already knocking each other down to praise and defend her.

We don't care about substance and honor and integrity in this country so much.

 

[drama_farmer]

IMO There is no way that Singer is the only college "fixer" out there. Similar "side door" schemes must exist elsewhere. Heck, there may be others "consulting" wealthy desperate parents to find a way in, and it's possible they have never heard of Singer. Until now. Great minds think alike.

 

[kaen]

I think it is important to note that most "elite" or "top tier" colleges have too many qualified students applying for the spots they have anyway. The chances of getting in vary by college but with a 25% acceptance rate (at many more competitive schools) the chances of a qualified student being rejected for no other reason than space is likely. Take out those with admission advantages and the number is even less than the published percentages.

We should never forget that at many of the more well off colleges the scholar/athlete is often lower performing and deserving of a spot only based on their ability to play a sport--- that also takes spots away from deserving high performing students who can't compete.

Legacy students may or may not be deserving of a slot and it depends on who they know, who they interviewed with and the families relationship with the college. This is also taking away spots from deserving students.

None of us can say with any assuridity that the students (whose families were involved) in these scandals are not smart. We don't know. It seems that they may be more average performing students based on the SAT/ACT scores we have seen but a low SAT/ACT score does not mean that one is not smart.

Colleges set out a minimal profile of a student that they hope to attract. The colleges also set out a minimal profile of an athlete they hope to attract. High schools create a profile that explains the rigors of the school (including numbers of AP/honors etc) and the demographic of the school. The HS profile accompanies the student's application. In truth, an A at a less rigorous high school shouldn't be seen as equal to an A in an elite, private high school-- because it is not. There is a secret way that colleges factor how they rate students given their profile and the high school profile. College counselors work to read the tea leaves and develop working relationships in order to ascertain a student's chance of the college's golden ticket.

Just think of it this way-- if colleges had the same standards across the boards regardless of legacy and athletics, March Madness would be filled with lower tier schools and community colleges-- no Duke, no Clemson, n0 whatever school. A question that most are not asking is why does USC need a champion crew/rowing team? Or, tennis team? None, if any of these students, are going to become professional tennis players at this point in their development. Why does the water polo team need to be part of a rubric that accepts lower performing students? This is why the side door was able to be opened by Singer. Yes, there are students who play these sports in order to gain a lower academic admit. Now one could argue that these students spent lots of time on these sports and maybe their grades suffered so why not give them an edge. But, let's be honest, colleges know they would have to give up the bye they give their basketball, football and track/field scholar/athletes for lowered standards if they let go of the scholar/athlete favored status for less competitive sports. This is a discussion that all in the higher ed field should be having. Not too long ago the NCAA had to raise its minimum GPA for acceptances and hold colleges accountable to ensure that a D1 football/basketball/whatever player actually could get a degree (and not just a recreation science degree) within a six year period.

In this scandal, yes, the parents (and the students in some cases) are cheaters and lack a moral sensibility that deserves a consequence-- legal and academic. However, the colleges made the scheme of a side door option possible and it was only a matter of time that the already corrupt system (lower performing students with different admissions guideline) was one that could be gamed by a shrewd huckster. I agree there are other aspects of this that need examination. If we allow everyone to focus on just this type of system gaming, I am confident we will miss the other potential scandals that are out there.

Fair disclosure: I was a college soccer player (D3) and gave up the option at a D1 school based on 4 and 6 year graduation rates of the team.

 

[kaen]

View attachment 179528

Yes. As every parent of a child who worked hard to get in should! It's terrible. Read this language from the complaint. It's sick:

Singer capitalized on the "business transaction" model of college admissions. In education, we have moved toward outcomes based results which produces this kind of thinking. Mr. Giannulli went into his daughters college counselor and basically was threatening her. Isn't it interesting that the school did not state outright that this student was not on a crew team? As an elite private school, they didn't want to make waves and risk losing a parent donation or the stats of one more student accepted to a highly desirable school or jeopardize the next year's applicant pool by being seen by USC as a problematic school. They kept quiet. You don't last long as a Director of College Counseling or as a College Counselor at an elite school if you don't have good stats of your grads getting into the desired schools.

 

[Herat]

Singer capitalized on the "business transaction" model of college admissions. In education, we have moved toward outcomes based results which produces this kind of thinking. Mr. Giannulli went into his daughters college counselor and basically was threatening her. Isn't it interesting that the school did not state outright that this student was not on a crew team? As an elite private school, they didn't want to make waves and risk losing a parent donation or the stats of one more student accepted to a highly desirable school or jeopardize the next year's applicant pool by being seen by USC as a problematic school. They kept quiet. You don't last long as a Director of College Counseling or as a College Counselor at an elite school if you don't have good stats of your grads getting into the desired schools.

Very important comments about that school.

I would hated to have gone to HS with all those young women from families like that.

 

[gitana1]

IMO There is no way that Singer is the only college "fixer" out there. Similar "side door" schemes must exist elsewhere. Heck, there may be others "consulting" wealthy desperate parents to find a way in, and it's possible they have never heard of Singer. Until now. Great minds think alike.

I wonder if this is ruining their business. I hope so. They will probably just get sneaker.

Can you imagine your business is pure corruption?

 

[gitana1]

Singer capitalized on the "business transaction" model of college admissions. In education, we have moved toward outcomes based results which produces this kind of thinking. Mr. Giannulli went into his daughters college counselor and basically was threatening her. Isn't it interesting that the school did not state outright that this student was not on a crew team? As an elite private school, they didn't want to make waves and risk losing a parent donation or the stats of one more student accepted to a highly desirable school or jeopardize the next year's applicant pool by being seen by USC as a problematic school. They kept quiet. You don't last long as a Director of College Counseling or as a College Counselor at an elite school if you don't have good stats of your grads getting into the desired schools.

I'm going to haveto reread your posts when I'm less distracted. Super intelligent and lots of info.