College Admissions Scandal Ringleader Rick Singer Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison
Jan. 4 2023, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
The man behind the biggest college admissions scandal in history will spend the next few years behind bars. Rick Singer, 62, was sentenced to 42 months — or 3.5 years — in prison on Wednesday, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
Singer, who was labeled the "architect" of the Varsity Blues scam, got off semi-easily, considering that prosecutors were gunning for a 6-year sentence. He could have faced the maximum, which was 65 years, but he ended up cooperating with authorities.
Singer turned on the parents, coaches, and his associates, assisting the prosecution in collecting information to secure a total of 53 convictions. He even wore a wire to help the government in their investigation to nab those who cheated their children's way into some of the country's best-known schools.
The prosecution argued he "was the architect of a massive, decades-long scheme to use fraud and bribery to secure admission of high school students to elite colleges and universities across the country."
They said Singer benefited more than anyone from the scandal, and, therefore, should get more time behind bars than the parents — like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin — that shelled out thousands for their kids to get a leg up in the admissions process and the coaches/associates that helped falsify their college applications.
Singer had pled guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
"It was a scheme that was breathtaking in its scale and its audacity. It has literally become the stuff of books and made-for-TV movies," Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank said in court before sentencing.
Singer ended up apologizing for the scandal, blaming his moral compass and father.
"My moral compass was warped by the lessons my father taught me about competition," he said. "I embraced his belief that embellishing or even lying to win was acceptable as long as there was victory. I should have known better."
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Singer still got more time than anyone involved, including actresses Felicity and Lori. They both went to the big house for the scandal.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Felicity pled guilty and spent 14 days in prison. Lori and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, also pled guilty. The Fuller House star served two months in prison and Mossimo got five months.
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