Mastermind of college admissions scam sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison
BOSTON — William “Rick” Singer, the self-styled college admissions consultant who bribed coaches and rigged exams to slip the children of his wealthy clients into the country’s best universities, must spend three years and six months in prison for masterminding a scheme that made him millions of dollars and rocked the country’s elite academic institutions.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Rya W. Zobel on Wednesday ordered Singer to pay $10 million in restitution to the federal government.
The sentence for Singer, 62, brings to an end what prosecutors called the largest college admissions fraud ever uncovered by law enforcement authorities. In addition to sending dozens of wealthy, powerful parents and coaches to prison, the case laid bare profound inequalities within higher education in America.
Some parents, for instance, argued their payments to Singer were no different from the donations
