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

[JerseyGirl]

The USC admission counselor who was designated to work with Marymount High School left the university weeks before the federal indictments alleging an admission bribery scheme. Recently departed counselor Clay Busia was one of the senior assistant directors and confirms that he worked with Marymount closely.

"I left in February after five years in the [admissions] office because I recently completed my master's degree and was looking for options in the policy realm to better suit my current professional interests," he wrote.

USC admission officials, including several senior assistant directors, serve as designated counselors for high schools in different areas. According to the USC Admission Find Your Counselor page, the counselor designated to Marymount High School is still listed as Busia, who is not currently in the USC admission counselors list or the USC faculty and staff directory.

USC senior assistant director assigned to counsel students from Olivia Jade’s high school left the admissions office in February

The FBI affidavit says a guidance counselor at Marymount High School had questions about the student's application and allegedly raised the concerns to a senior assistant director of the USC admission office, whose name is redacted in the Department of Justice documents.

Annenberg Media could not confirm whether Busia is the same USC admission official that the concerned high school guidance counselor from Marymount reached out to.

Shortly after Olivia Jade received her formal acceptance letter in April 2018, the counselor wrote an email to Mossimo Giannulli. Here is the email, per the affidavit:

"I wanted to provide you with an update on the status of [your younger daughter's] admission offer to USC. First and foremost, they have no intention of rescinding [her] admission and were surprised to hear that was even a concern for you and your family. You can verify that with [the USC senior assistant director of admissions] . . . if you would like. I also shared with [the USC senior assistant director of admission] that you had visited this morning and affirmed for me that [your younger daughter] is truly a coxswain."

When asked about this, Busia said he is "unfamiliar to the situation" described in the affidavit and he has not "been updated by [the admissions dean] or FBI in any form since the news broke."

Busia's USC admission profile page and his meet-counselor page both are now blank. Busia's LinkedIn profile has been taken down.

On Feb. 28, Career at USC posted a job position for senior assistant director at Office of Admission.

 

[neesaki]

Some arguments coming in:

A Palo Alto couple accused of paying $25,000 to rig their son’s college entrance exam asked a federal judge this week to dismiss the indictment against them, claiming there was no conspiracy among the parents entangled in the college admissions scandal. Their defense attorney, David S. Schumacher, argued in the motion that even if it were true that his clients paid a test proctor to correct their son’s SAT exam, as authorities have alleged, they did not act in concert with other parents. In that case, Schumacher said, prosecutors don’t have the legal ground to support the conspiracy charge.

____

Bill McGlashan, the former managing partner of San Francisco-based TPG Growth, is fighting allegations he discussed a $200,000 bribe with an athletic administrator to get his son into USC. His attorneys argued that their client differed from other parents caught up in the scandal. McGlashan, who has pleaded not guilty, says he paid Singer $50,000 for legitimate college counseling services for his son.

For Lori Loughlin, ‘parenting on steroids’ could be defense in college admissions scandal

I saw this earlier, but doesn’t the real conspiracy involve those who orchestrated and took bribes and the parents who paid the bribes and gave fraudulent information? They don’t have to collude with the other parents for a conspiracy do they?

 

[JerseyGirl]

According to the FBI affidavit, a guidance counselor at indicted parent Devin Sloane's son's high school allegedly questioned the student's acceptance into USC as a water polo recruit and alerted the USC admission office.

Sloane, the founder and CEO of Los Angeles-based provider of drinking water and wastewater systems aquaTECTURE, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud on April 5.

USC's former Senior Athletic Director Donna Heinel, who has been indicted by the Department of Justice and was fired by USC after news of the bribery scheme broke, allegedly sent an email in April 2018 to the "USC Director of Admissions."

According to the affidavit, Heinel acknowledged that the student's high school does not have a water polo team, but insisted that the student had water polo experience and cited his interaction with then-USC Water Polo Head Coach Jovan Vavic in Serbia. The affidavit says the student's athletic experience was fabricated. Vavic has been indicted by the Department of Justice and was fired by USC after the revelation.

The affidavit says that "USC Director of Admissions" replied to Heinel, calling the case "unusually skeptical."

Sloane allegedly bribed Heinel in the summer of 2017 to designate his son to be a water polo recruit even though the student never played water polo competitively. The affidavit says that Sloane purchased water polo gear, including a ball and a cap, from Amazon.com in June 2017, and the student's athletic application profile reportedly includes fabricated awards and the photographs of himself wearing the ball and the cap. When Sloane heard the high school counselor questioning his son's acceptance to USC, he allegedly told Singer that "the more I think about this, it is outrageous! They have no business or legal right considering all the students privacy issues to be calling and challenging/question [my son's]'s application."

A plea hearing for Sloane is set for May 13 at 2:30 pm.

USC senior assistant director assigned to counsel students from Olivia Jade’s high school left the admissions office in February

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Hallmark Channel Complaint Board has several comments about Lori Laughlin.

Hallmark channel

 

[Inthedetails]

Sloane allegedly bribed Heinel in the summer of 2017 to designate his son to be a water polo recruit even though the student never played water polo competitively. The affidavit says that Sloane purchased water polo gear, including a ball and a cap, from Amazon.com in June 2017, and the student's athletic application profile reportedly includes fabricated awards and the photographs of himself wearing the ball and the cap. When Sloane heard the high school counselor questioning his son's acceptance to USC, he allegedly told Singer that "the more I think about this, it is outrageous! They have no business or legal right considering all the students privacy issues to be calling and challenging/question [my son's]'s application."

USC senior assistant director assigned to counsel students from Olivia Jade’s high school left the admissions office in February

Snipped and BBM.

That is exactly what is so galling with this case. The parents lie and then get mad when their lies are questioned. And, being rich, they often get away with that behavior.

When questioned, blame the other guy for misdeeds. That's how immature bullies act. Too bad it's usually effective.

jmo

 

[JerseyGirl]

Prosecutors indicted those involved in the college bribery scheme on March 12, and it was March 18 when Vice President of Admissions and Planning Katharine Harrington made an unannounced visit to a journalism faculty meeting at USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism to discuss the integrity of the admission process.

Professors who attended the meeting stated Harrington explained that there are a certain amount of slots for each athletic team uses to admit students, and that one of the abuses in the bribery scheme was exceeding those numbers without the admission office knowing.

Harrington told faculty the admission office "doesn't independently verify" or perform background checks on each of the potential student athletes. Instead, when an athletic recommendation is provided by a coach, "the admission office proceeds on the assumption that the athletic value of that student is something that has been established by the Athletic Department."

Harrington commented that "we were played," giving the impression that Harrington was "using the rationale that USC is the victim" and deflecting blame on to the Athletics Department.

Professors stated the faculty also discussed the issue of flagging student applicants, which is the process when certain applications are marked for a variety of reasons and could potentially be given preferential treatment. Harrington gave examples of students whose application could be flagged, such as children of donors, faculty or staff members, or if they pique the interest of a trustee for merit or development reasons.

Harrington told faculty an estimated 2% of the entire applicant pool received flags. A spokesperson for USC said the university had a record-breaking admissions year with 66,000 applicants. Of that number, 11% were admitted, which adds up to 7,260 incoming students.

If the math Harrington cited in the faculty meeting is accurate, then out of the number of students who applied, 1,320 applications could have been flagged. Potentially, as much as one-sixth of the incoming freshmen class could have been flagged for special consideration.

A professor was also curious about how many of the flagged students in the applicant pool were actually admitted. He said he asked about it in the faculty meeting but Harrington was unable to answer the question immediately. Harrington didn't clarify "what kind of weights these flags carry."

USC’s backdoor admissions: Faculty raises questions about preferential treatment

 

[Inthedetails]

Again....whatever, Lori.

“'The idea of going to trial is terrifying for Lori,' the source told the outlet. 'Everything comes out in trial, whether or not it’s relevant to the case. She will be under a microscope, and you only have to look at the paparazzi outside the court to know that there is widespread interest in this case. She will lose every bit of her privacy, and that’s a shame. This really is a family matter.'”
https://pagesix.com/2019/04/17/lori...17.2002926879.1552927834-383419253.1550162351

I guess those staged photos with the flowers, etc. backfired. But, not their fault. It's the public's fault for looking at the photos and reading what "sources" say in the tabloids....nothing at all do to with their own PR putting those items in the tabloids. Poor things.

They could've handled this much, much better, but they took a gamble with placing items in the press - it's my opinion that is what they did. And that didn't work, so now....cry over lack of privacy.

And the press outside the courthouse? Yes, they are going to be there, that's no surprise. What took people by surprise, Lori, was that you waved, signed autographs, and acted like it was a sociable meet & greet.

jmo

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

And now, after all of the PR leaks via LL’s sources, the public & press are supposed to go away and leave the Gianulli’s alone. Because, you know, this is a family matter.

Nothing to see here.....move along.....lol. Good try.

 

[Herat]

Snipped and BBM.

That is exactly what is so galling with this case. The parents lie and then get mad when their lies are questioned. And, being rich, they often get away with that behavior.

When questioned, blame the other guy for misdeeds. That's how immature bullies act. Too bad it's usually effective.

jmo

The technical term for that lie is “fraud”

 

[Inthedetails]

The technical term for that lie is “fraud”

Aha, the "f" word.

 

[Herat]

I don’t think the Gianulli’s planted this article:

Lori Loughlin's DAUGHTER under criminal investigation in college admissions scandal | Daily Mail Online

“It’s very clear some of the students are going to be charged”

Nice work, Lori. It’s FRAUD if you’re 54 or 19.

Fraud can also be a felony, which will stick with your kid for the rest of her life.

 

[kaen]

I don’t think the Gianulli’s planted this article:

Lori Loughlin's DAUGHTER under criminal investigation in college admissions scandal | Daily Mail Online

“It’s very clear some of the students are going to be charged”

Nice work, Lori. It’s FRAUD if you’re 54 or 19.

Fraud can also be a felony, which will stick with your kid for the rest of her life.

I hope her daughter gets great legal counsel. I feel pretty confident that the target letter is the reason that the moving truck came by. If she was my mom, I would not be within 20 miles of her. Between the leaks and the increased charges, these parents are radioactive-- everything they touch is contaminated.

 

[human]

I don’t know anything about LL except what I read on here.

As the case has been discussed on here, they become more and more unlikeable.

The arrogance is incredible. They do have examples of the really rich getting off on serious crimes so maybe they think they will.

They will never have to worry about money even if they never have jobs again

 

[JerseyGirl]

Lori Loughlin Source: ‘USC Became Her Obsession’

“Lori was always very impressed when she met a parent who got their child into a prestigious school,” a family source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

“USC became Lori’s obsession. This was the school she wanted her girls to attend.”

According to the family source, Loughlin’s desire to have her daughters attend the elite L.A.-based university stemmed from her need to “keep up” with those in her social circle.

“They are wealthy and successful, live in a gorgeous Bel Air mansion and their daughters are beautiful. But they are also surrounded by families who are even wealthier. Although it’s hard to understand, these are the families Lori was trying to keep up with.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

Another day, another “ruh-ro” ....

The Daily Mail now reports one of the two daughters—either Olivia Jade, 19, or Bella Giannulli, 20—has received a “target letter” declaring her the subject of an investigation by the Department of Justice.

Internet sleuths are now, inevitably, speculating that the daughter in question could be Bella, who deleted her Instagram account this week. (Her sister’s remains active.)

Is Olivia Jade Now Under Investigation in Operation Varsity Blues?

 

[JanetElaine]

"Lori doesn't understand why she's getting so much criticism for pleading not guilty," the source said. "People must not realize that she had no choice. The plea deal has been taken off the table, and this is the only way they've been told she and Mossimo can avoid jail time and get another plea (deal). They are hoping justice will prevail."

rsbm and bbm

So do we, Lori and Mossimo. So do we. I just don't think we're talking about the same thing here though.

JMO

 

[Herat]

Lori Loughlin Source: ‘USC Became Her Obsession’

“Lori was always very impressed when she met a parent who got their child into a prestigious school,” a family source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

“USC became Lori’s obsession,” the family source says about Loughlin. “This was the school she wanted her girls to attend.”

According to the family source, Loughlin’s desire to have her daughters attend the elite L.A.-based university stemmed from her need to “keep up” with those in her social circle.

“They are wealthy and successful, live in a gorgeous Bel Air mansion and their daughters are beautiful. But they are also surrounded by families who are even wealthier,” says the family source. “Although it’s hard to understand, these are the families Lori was trying to keep up with.”

So if this was her obsession - why did she allow her children to perform so poorly in academics at their elite high school?

Why was she not supervising their scholastics and getting them tutors, or summer school, or REAL extracurricular projects from which to enrich their educational experience.

Why was she not monitoring their performance, making their educational success a priority over their visibility on social media and in social occasion photos?

Why was she not paying attention to her children as individuals, not the fulfillment of her wishes?

Because she’s a FAKE. A rich fake who wants the veneer of effort because she thinks she can buy it.

She’s a fake, and a failure as a parent.

Fraud charges and money laundering charges aren’t fake.

Wake up and smell the prison canteen coffee, Lori.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Good post as always, Herat. Major parental failure!

I had my fill of LL shortly after this story broke. I briefly lost my mind and watched LL when she guested with OJ in one of her videos and was trying to act like the “cool mom”. She came off as ridiculous to me and extremely phony. Totally fake.

 

[Herat]

Good post as always, Herat. Major parental failure!

I had my fill of LL shortly after this story broke. I briefly lost my mind and watched LL when she guested with OJ in one of her videos and was trying to act like the “cool mom”. She came off as ridiculous to me and extremely phony. Totally fake.

Right now she’s on her way to becoming the “cool mom” in Cellblock C.

 

[JanetElaine]

Right now she’s on her way to becoming the “cool mom” in Cellblock C.

Can I finally please use the lame pun I've been trying not to post since this broke? I hope they all go to Yale.

Sorry. I'll see myself out.