Original subtitles

In this episode of American Greed, the college admissions scandal.

We're talking about deception and fraud.

The details of the alleged cheating are shocking.

Powerful parents accused of paying big money to rig their kids' college

admissions. Fake test scores.

You wanted a perfect score in the SAT, that's what you got.

Fake athletic credentials.

He asked me how tall my son was, and then he asked me what my son weighed.

Getting rich kids in.

Shutting deserving students out.

I'm so scared.

The mastermind?

Admissions coach Rick Singer, who tries to build his brand with this video

audition for a reality show. Just realize that this is a game. Playing on

parents' anxieties.

How come we're not doing this?

I heard this kid has a 3 .4 and they're going to get into Harvard.

Singer exploits the system.

These colleges are so selective that it makes parents desperate. It makes them

crazy. He collects $25 million in a global fraud.

The culture of corruption and greed.

Turning run -of -the -mill students into scholars and non -athletes into

champions. They were just such blatant, outright lies.

It's a parade of the powerful.

Corporate executives.

Famous actors.

An international press corps in full froth. But this isn't Hollywood, and

there's no red carpet.

This is Boston, and it's a scandal.

The feds call it Operation Varsity Blues.

We're here today to announce charges.

in the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of

Justice. In March 2019, they accused the rich and powerful of paying this man to

cheat the system, buying off college coaches and test administrators, rigging

the college admissions process for their kids. Any message for your former

athletes?

We've charged 50 people. These parents are a catalog of wealth and privilege.

The outrage is swift and overwhelming. The story that everybody cannot stop

talking about. Students whose parents are accused of bribing their way into

of America's top colleges.

It's just kind of like a slap in the face. That's just so incredibly unfair,

it's taking a slap from someone who really deserves to be here and really

to be here.

You know, what I found fascinating is the desperation of these parents in some

ways, right? These are people who are very wealthy and have a lot, like, at

level you can think, like, your kids are going to be fine. They'll be fine. Send

them anywhere.

They are not victimless crimes.

For every student who gets in through deception, there is another student who

gets shut out.

In upstate New York, in the small town of Carthage, high school senior

Malcolm has been preparing her whole life for today, what is known as Ivy

Ivy Day is the day when all the Ivy Leagues send your acceptances and

to all the applicants.

In 2018, the competition is intense.

Top students across the country are waiting too. I'm honestly so anxious.

is the most anxious I've ever been for anything in my life.

Soon enough, many will be sharing their results with the world.

Okay. Well, another rejection. Cool, cool.

Dominique has applied to five Ivy League universities, and she thinks her

prospects are good.

Her grades are solid, and so is her resume.

She is a student athlete.

She has done volunteer work in Jamaica, helping needy families.

She feels especially good about her chances at Yale.

The year before, as a junior, she wins a prestigious award from the School for

Community Service.

and attends the ceremony on campus.

And I went up to the front and shook the hand of the president, and he told me

that my application really stood out. So in my mind, I was like, Yale could be a

potential place for me.

What's up, what's up, what's up? Is your girl down back?

What's up, what's up?

You got it there. We got the whole family.

I'm FaceTime. Say what's up.

It was not just me applying. It was all of us. So my success was their success.

Shaking. Oh my gosh, I can't believe this right now.

But it quickly becomes apparent that Ivy Day isn't going quite the way Dominique

dreamed.

We can get in.

We can offer you.

No.

One by one, the Ivys are turning her down.

Brown is a no.

This actually is like starting to go south. This is not what I imagined.

I'm so scared.

Including her dream school.

You don't understand how much work was put in beforehand.

It was just a lot of work that seemed like it was all for nothing.

Around the same time, clear across the country in California, another high

school senior is having a much different experience.

Exciting playing show.

Welcome to the studio, Olivia Jay. Hello.

Olivia Jay Giannulli is an influencer.

seen here on her own public YouTube channel.

Sponsors pay her to push their products to her 2 million followers.

Today, I get to reveal and announce my highlight palette

with Sephora Collection.

Olivia, or at least the persona she presents online, is a little less

about school.

But I do want the experience of, like, game days, partying.

I don't really care about school, as you guys all know.

Just the same, in March of 2018, the same time Dominique is getting her

rejections, Olivia gets into the school she was hoping for, the University of

Southern California.

With an acceptance rate of just 13%, USC is an elite school in its own right.

But Olivia has an edge.

And your beautiful daughter is here today.

She is. Your two daughters are just dropping. Thank you. That's my Olivia.

got a YouTube channel, and she's here for Fashion Week. Of course she is.

Olivia's edge is not her famous parents, television star Lori Loughlin and

fashion designer Massimo Giannulli, though that pedigree probably doesn't

Her biggest advantage is admission coach Rick Singer.

who promotes himself in this video audition for a reality show.

My job is to life coach kids and families through the whole process of

into college.

In his Internet videos, Rick Singer aims his pitch directly to parents.

As a father myself, I understand the threat the college admissions process

put on your family.

He is the college admission coach to the stars.

You know, he had the gift of the gab, and he...

persuaded people that he could get their kids into college.

According to court filings, he hopes Olivia's older sister, Isabella, get

USC as well.

My sister goes to the same school, and we're pretty much inseparable, so it was

nice, like, following in her footsteps a little bit.

Husband and wife actors Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy hired him for their

daughter, according to prosecutors.

Wealthy business leaders, attorneys, executives all sign on for Singer's

expertise.

In his Internet videos, he makes it all sound simple.

There is English, math, social science or social studies.

His services don't come cheap.

Basic coaching, which includes monthly sessions starting in ninth grade, can

cost $5 ,000 a year.

Other services cost more, like help on the student's college essay or test

preparation. Not bad for a guy whose own academic career is hardly stellar.

Rick Singer grows up in the 1960s and 70s in the leafy Chicago suburb of

Lincolnwood.

Gerald Turi is dean of students at Niles West High School when Singler attends

in the 70s. He remembers Singer as a standout, but not in a good way.

He was always looking for a shortcut, an angle on how to make something happen

in his favor.

Classmates remember Singer as a guy with a big personality and big hair.

He's a jock who writes in his yearbook.

that he wants to be remembered for his outstanding personality and being able

get along with others.

But Turi remembers him as a grade -A schmoozer who'd stop by the dean's

supposedly just to say hello.

If I waited long enough, when he'd come in to say hello, he'd fess

up as to really why he was in there. You know, did you get a call from Mr.

So -and -so yet?

And I'd say, why, what happened? And then he'd tell me.

After high school, Singer bounces around a bit, goes to community college.

Then to tiny Our Lady of the Lake University in Texas, where he plays

basketball.

He eventually transfers to Trinity University in San Antonio, where he

football and baseball, earns a degree in English and phys ed.

He tells the campus newspaper that he wants to coach.

It doesn't go well.

Singer loses two high school coaching jobs, one in Texas and one in

Singer doesn't comment at the time, but local news reports in Sacramento say

that parents complain about his feverish sideline antics and his abusive manner

towards officials.

But along the way, Singer learns about a different kind of coaching, where his

brand of intensity might be appreciated.

coaching students to get into college.

I think initially he was on the level, but he made mistakes.

Next on American Greed, Rick Singer is making a name for himself and making

waves. There's a line I would not cross to help my kids, and this was way over

it.

A college degree is a key to success.

And for some parents, only the right college will do.

There is just this obsession with getting your kids into elite colleges

really can't necessarily be explained by rational calculation.

Pulitzer Prize -winning journalist Daniel Golden's 2005 book about how rich

parents buy their kids way into college gets an unexpected reception.

I intended my book as a work of investigative reporting, and most

would like to think, took it that way. But I would every so often get a call

from somebody, and would I be willing to consult on how to get their kids into

college? It was taken in some quarters as a how -to book.

Golden says colleges know their Econ 101, including the law of supply and

demand. Colleges have not increased their student bodies very much. You

they don't have many more students than they did 15 or 20 years ago.

It sets up a vicious cycle.

The more students and parents obsess over these elite, highly selective

the more elusive they become.

Desperate. It makes them crazy.

In their desperation, Rick Singer sees opportunity.

He's living in Sacramento after flaming out as a high school basketball coach,

but now he says he can coach your kid into college for a fee.

Rick Singer was the first person that Sacramento had seen who presented

as an educational consultant.

We had never heard of that profession.

Margie Amott first learns about Singer while volunteering at her daughter's

school. Well, it turned out he was interesting, he was earnest, and he did

that he knew how to go about it.

Alexander Bering is an early client as a high school junior.

I think it was probably in about 1997 or 1998.

Bering says most of her friends use him, too.

And I probably knew 10 or 15 other kids that went to him for help with both

focusing their college search and developing their own narrative and

through with the whole application process.

Singer comes to the house, helps keep Alexandra organized and focused.

He gets her ready to take the essay team, and he helps with her college

He knew those schools.

It was almost like he had a catalog of them in his head.

And for a middle -class family, the price is right.

About $1 ,500 for the whole package.

I look back at what he provided for me and my family. He probably could have

charged more.

She says everything seems on the up and up, though Singer does have some quirks.

He seemed pretty tightly wound or intense.

I don't remember him laughing.

I'm sure he must have, but I don't remember that. It doesn't stick out in

mind. He always wore athletic gear.

He always wore athletic gear, which I thought was kind of funny. He dressed

a coach.

The coach seems to be doing well, and the press is noticing.

He tells the Sacramento Business Journal that he's cleared $1 million in 2004

and expects to double that in 2005.

On his website, Singer boasts an advisory board of top educators, though

is no evidence the board actually exists.

And his site claims his company has 40 ,000 clients around the world.

And it's all part of the basic pitch.

He can get you into college.

That was always his comment. I can get you in.

It works so well that by 2012, Singer shakes off Sacramento.

and moves to Newport Beach, where the real money is.

Using the money he's made from anxious parents, he buys a $1 .5 million Tuscan

-style home, and he tunes up his online video pitches.

My key method unlocks the full potential of your son or daughter.

Just as he coaches his students to do, he's building his personal brand,

auditioning for a reality show.

The message in the video is what he's been telling clients for years.

This is a game.

Just realize that this is a game.

Working title, Chasing Ivy.

So there's families all across the country that I work with. They send

plane to come pick me up, come to the meeting for a couple hours, two, three

hours, put me right back on the plane, send me to the next place I need to go.

It's amazing.

The show never gets off the ground.

But Rick Singer's career is flying high.

He publishes two books about getting into college, puts out a series of self

-help videos.

The key to being a great student is mastering your work. He also unveils a

to give back, establishing a charity to help underserved youth.

According to its organizing documents, the Key Worldwide Foundation will

resources to adolescents and young adults to inspire personal achievement.

and it's seeking donations to accomplish its goals, like online education,

educational workshops, athletic and dance competitions, with plans to expand

across the country.

But there is more to Singer's runaway success than meets the eye, and it may

help explain his sudden move to Southern California in 2012.

Back in Sacramento, Margie Amitt says, She smelled something fishy early on

after hearing Singer make all those promises.

His main pitch was always, I can get you into college, Jack. And I was just

appalled because no ethical counselor can ever say that.

In 1996, three years after Singer sets up shop, Emmett decides she can do

better. She starts her own cottage consulting business.

And for a time, she is Singer's only competition in town.

Almost immediately, she says she hears stories from former Singer clients, like

a mother who claims that Singer has filled out her son's application for

And it was filled with all these spectacular lies that he was in charge

basketball program at these two schools, and the school didn't even exist in

Sacramento. They were just such blatant, outright lies.

In Southern California, away from the suspicious eyes of Sacramento,

Singer is ready to make his next move.

Up next, it turns out that Rick Singer's charity is not for the underprivileged.

It was to help the most privileged.

athletes are a special breed.

They're doing body weight training. They're running.

They're running hills and stadiums.

They'll meet to go for a run, say, at 6 in the morning, but then in the

afternoon, practice for my group starts at 3 .15 and then it goes to 5 .45.

High school rowing coach Andy O 'Brien in Boston says all the while they have

keep their grades up.

More often than not, they tend to be top -tier students.

There is a reward for all those early morning muscle -busting workouts.

A truly outstanding athlete can get into college as an athletic recruit.

Preference as an athlete is one of the biggest preferences in college

admissions. That's tantamount to being admitted.

In upstate New York, Dominique Malcolm isn't just an academic star.

She's also a standout in three sports.

Track. Volleyball and soccer.

I definitely learned so much and had the best teams and the best memories.

For a time, she considers going the recruited athlete route.

Yale has a strong women's soccer program, and soccer is her best sport.

My father and I sat down and talked about it could help you get in if you

sport. In the end, she decides the odds against her getting in as an athlete are

too great.

At the end of the day, I just wanted to focus on academics.

But college admission coach Rick Singer has a way around all of that pesky hard

work that's normally required to get in as a recruited athlete.

And he's pitching it hard.

It's bizarre.

This parent hears the pitch in 2011 when he calls Singer for what he thinks will

be standard college placement advice for his son.

He asks American Greed to hide his identity in order to protect the friend

referred him.

We are 40 seconds into the call.

Singer asks basic questions about his son's grade point average and test

But the next question is not about academics.

He hit me with the question of how tall my son was. I thought that was a bit

strange. And he followed it up with asking how much my son weighed.

Then Singer asks what sports the boy plays.

He inquired as to whether or not my son had played water polo.

I told him my son had never played, was not familiar with the game, and he

explained that that would not be disqualifying for him.

Finally, matter of factly, he cuts to the chase. My son could be admitted as a

member of this team.

The day he arrives on campus, he may attend one meeting possibly or be

from the team the day he gets there.

He then proceeded to tell me that there would be a fee of $100 ,000 to make this

happen. It's bizarre that this person has only known me for two or three

and laid out this very methodical plan to get my kid into college.

It is a plan single will pitch hundreds of times.

For the right price, he can get a non -athlete designated as an athletic

recruit, guaranteeing their admission to a top -tier school.

He tells parents that there are three doors to get into college.

The front door is the old -fashioned way, through good grades and test

The back door is by making a big donation.

Singer is offering what he refers to as a side door.

This side door option that Rick Singer concocted was basically where parents

could pay to get their kids into schools as athletic recruits.

Caroline Connolly is a crime reporter for NBC Boston.

They would doctor up these fake resumes of all these athletic accolades and say,

my kid plays this sport. And as soon as the kid got in, they would come up with

something like an injury or whatever.

They got in as an athletic recruit, and they were not athletic recruits.

Coaches know the value of their recruited athlete slots.

They aren't about to give away the golden tickets for free to a student who

never play.

He had to get these coaches to agree for a sum of money to say my kid that is

coming in is a water polo recruit, a soccer recruit.

Not every parent is willing to have their kid use the side door.

There's a line I would not cross to help my kids.

And this was way over it.

But according to prosecutors, many dive right in.

Including California businessman Devin Sloan.

He's the founder of a water treatment company.

And he apparently liked the idea of his son pretending to play water polo.

So Sloan fires up his Amazon account.

He basically went on there and bought water polo equipment. I think he bought

ball.

staged his son in photographs, and then actually hired a graphic designer to

then Photoshop his son into different pool settings, jumping out of the water.

But it turns out the design team knows even less about water polo than Sloan's

son does.

He sends the photo to Rick Singer, and Rick Singer even says, oh, hey, man,

actually a little too high out of the water. Like, no water polo can play that

well.

Sloan sends the graphic designers back to the drawing board for a more

Photoshop.

And soon enough, his son is admitted to USC as a water polo recruit.

Sloan's total cost, according to court filings, $250 ,000.

Water polo gear and graphic design team, not included.

For actress Lori Loughlin's daughters Isabella and Olivia, the sport of choice

is crew.

But to hear Olivia describe it on her YouTube channel, she doesn't seem to

follow the typical rowing regimen.

That's it. I just signed up for a Pilates class.

I haven't worked out in so freaking long since before Coachella.

According to court filings, Singer works with the family to stage photos of the

girls sitting on rowing machines to bolster their applications to USC.

Their applications claim they belong to the prestigious Marina Aquatic Center

near Los Angeles, though there is no evidence they ever set foot there.

Laughlin and her fashion designer husband, Massimo Giannulli, deny

themselves or their daughters.

Through a spokesperson, the entire family declines to speak to American

According to prosecutors, Singer's rowing scheme works.

And both daughters get in.

But once they arrive, neither joins the crew team.

Doing things in college gives you a whole new perspective.

Totally. I know. It's like the coolest thing, getting DMs from girls. Like, I'm

applying to college right now. Like, what did you do? All this stuff. It's

Next on American Greed, the college admissions scandal.

It's a national outrage.

But will anything change? I'm not sure that the colleges necessarily hate all

this publicity about the skin.

Nearly 30 years since Lori Loughlin made her debut in one of America's most

beloved families sitcoms, Full House.

By the way, look at you with your lovely daughter, Isabella.

Hi.

Actress Lori Loughlin has carefully cultivated a wholesome image.

And lately, that includes mom to two college -bound daughters. Beautiful. I

can't wait. Isabella, are you going off to college and leaving your mom?

Yes.

In 2017.

Older daughter Isabella is headed from the family's $15 million mansion in Bel

Air, 15 miles away to USC.

I think I'm in complete denial.

I really am, because when I think about it too much, it will make me cry. Yeah,

I got to stop.

Younger daughter Olivia will follow a year later.

I'm so happy they made me go. That sounds so terrible. They didn't make me.

girls get in with the help of college admissions consultant Rick Singer.

who, according to court filings, positions them as recruits for the

even though they're more familiar with J. Crew than rowing crew.

They're not the only Hollywood family that turns to Singer.

Husband and wife actors Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy are looking for

help with their daughter Sophia's upcoming SAT.

Unbeknownst to Sophia, they have Singer over to the house to explain another

service he offers.

For the right price, he can make any student score like an academic all

So if you wanted a 31 on the ACT, that's what you got. If you wanted a perfect

score on the SAT, that's what you got.

First step, the student applies for extra time to take the exam.

It's a special accommodation meant for students with learning disabilities or

other special needs.

And it enables them to compete on even terms with students who don't have that

disability and can do it faster.

To get approval for extra time, Singer sets his clients up with a psychologist

who can get them the diagnosis they need.

Rick Singer actually told one parent, make sure your daughter seems really

stupid.

Next, they make up a story about a vacation or a family function so the

can't take the test at the regularly scheduled location.

Instead, they go to one of two test centers in Houston or West Hollywood.

And what he would do is to say to the parents, you've got to get your kid out

there. Sophia Macy goes to the West Hollywood Center to take her SAT.

Like all test centers, there is a proctor on hand to make sure nobody

But at this center, and the one in Houston, neither of which has been

with wrongdoing, Rick Singer has bought off the person in charge.

And the proctor?

He's been flown in special from Florida.

He's a Harvard graduate named Mark Riddell, and prosecutors say he's on

payroll. Riddell is not here to stop cheating.

He's here to facilitate it.

Mark Riddell was just smart enough to get whatever score parents wanted to pay

for.

For students whose parents pay the price, Riddell will correct their

simply take the exam for them.

Sophia Macy's SAT score is a 40 % improvement over the PSAT she took the

before.

And it costs her parents the bargain price of $15 ,000.

The test -taking scheme is the affordable option with a top price of

The recruited athlete approach can run into the hundreds of thousands or more.

Both carry a benefit beyond just getting your kid into college.

Remember Singer's charitable foundation?

The one that's supposed to be sponsoring academic workshops and dance

competitions?

That's where the parents send their money, which means all this cheating is

tax write -off.

Wealthy parents were just paying to get their kids into whatever school they

wanted, and they were saying it was to help underprivileged kids. It was to

the most privileged.

But Singer's biggest payday comes from China.

$6 .5 million from the mother of Yuzi Zhao.

Her daughter posts on social media that it was hard work that got her into

Stanford. The mother, who hasn't been charged, says Singer duped her.

He had desperate parents eager to get their kids in by any means possible.

He had coaches willing to take a bribe to give these kids a huge advantage.

And he had administrations that weren't really paying attention.

There is just one thing he hasn't counted on.

Next on American Green, a wealthy investor who is about to make the trade

life. And I don't even think Maury Tobin knew what he had.

Rick. Singer turns parents anxieties about their children getting into

into an empire complete with books and videos promoting his services.

So getting in has to do with getting involved in your brand.

His clientele includes movie stars and multimillionaires for $75

,000.

Gordon Kaplan, the co -chairman of an international law firm, gets his

an ACT score of 32 out of a possible 36.

Silicon Valley real estate developer Bruce Isaacson pays $600 ,000 to get one

daughter into UCLA as a soccer recruit and another daughter into USC as a

recruit with a 31 on her ACT.

For Augustin Unais, the scion of his family's international wine business,

cost is $300 ,000 to get his daughter into USC as a water polo recruit, with

SAT score in the top 5 % in the country.

I'm Jane Buckingham. I have two kids. Jane Buckingham is a marketing executive

who sells herself as an expert on parenting.

Every working mom comes to me and says, how do I do it all? Well, guess what?

You can't. No one is superwoman. On Instagram, she posts the words, don't

But she pays $50 ,000 to get her son a near -perfect score, 35 out of 36 on his

ACT.

They want to do anything they can for their kid, and they have the money to

it happen.

Los Angeles investor and parent Maury Tobin has money, too.

But in 2018, he has a problem.

Federal investigators in Boston have him dead to rights in a stock fraud case.

It was a pump and dump scheme, if you will, and it led them to this financial

executive out in California who they're looking into.

Hoping for leniency, Tobin tells agents that he's heard stories about the woman

soccer coach at Yale, Rudy Meredith, taking bribes to get girls in as

athletes. To prove it, Tobin agrees to meet with Meredith and wear a wire.

They met in a Boston hotel room.

The Yale soccer coach had no idea he was being filmed and recorded.

And Maury Tobin sets him up.

Tobin says he's interested in using the side door to get his daughter into Yale

as a soccer recruit.

According to transcripts filed in court, Meredith says it will cost $450 ,000.

Some for himself and some for a consultant he works with named Rick

And that's when these investigators were listening that, who's Rick Singer?

Massachusetts U .S. Attorney Andrew Lelling and his team get a warrant to

Singer's phones.

One of the first calls they intercept is between Singer and Gordon Kaplan, the

law firm chairman.

They hear Singer laying out his scam.

What we do is we help the wealthiest families get their kids into school.

If the FBI wanted an explanation of this case, that was a perfect conversation

to get it from because Gordon Kaplan and Rick Singer are just detailing how the

whole thing works.

Singer explains the side door and the test cheating scheme.

He says he's gotten nearly 800 students in that year alone.

Never fails. It works all the time.

In another call, parenting guru Jane Buckingham is in disbelief about all

Singer has managed to do to get her son into an elite school.

I know this is craziness. I know it is.

And then I need you to get him into USC.

And then I need you to cure cancer and make peace in the Middle East.

Rick Singer laughs and says, of course, of course.

By the fall of 2018, prosecutors have the evidence they need to move in on

Singer. And Singer sings.

He names the names of high -power, high -profile parents and college coaches and

administrators.

And he agrees to go undercover, calling parents with a script aimed at getting

them to unwillingly incriminate themselves.

They make Rick Singer call every parent, and they record him, and they have him

pretend he's being audited.

Winery owner Augustin Yuneas is among the first calls.

Singer wants to make sure that if the IRS calls, Yuneas will tell them his

payment was for charity, not for cheating.

Dude, what do you think? I'm a moron?

Of course I'll lie. I don't care.

Lori Loughlin is allegedly on board, too.

So we just have to say we made a donation to your foundation, and that's

of story.

We'll of course say this was to help underprivileged kids, and we're fine

that. We're comfortable with that being the storyline.

Parent after parent falls in line and falls into the trap.

But Bruce Isaacson, the real estate developer, is nervous.

I'm not going to do this over the phone. I don't know if they're tapping my

phone. He actually says, I don't know if they're tapping my phone or what.

Isaacson has paid for most of his donation using Facebook stock.

And he's apparently worried the feds might trace the money. So Singer agrees

come talk it over in person.

He's wearing a wire.

Bruce Isaacson, to me, seems to be the parent who is most cognizant of what...

could happen if people knew about this.

Isaacson seems worried that the whole thing is going to get out.

Is this going to be this front -page story?

The embarrassment to the communities. Oh, my God.

Now Isaacson faces a dilemma.

He has a third daughter getting ready for college, and he had been considering

buying some help for her.

But now the scrutiny is on, and the potential consequences are clear.

He could simply have her try to get into college legitimately, but let's not get

carried away.

This time he tells Singer, I think we'll definitely pay with cash, but he won't

get that chance.

When American Greed returns, the scandal explodes.

We're hearing Aunt Becky from Full House could be involved.

March 12th, 2019.

Something is brewing in Boston.

We're hearing there might be some story coming out of the U .S. Attorney's

Office. We're hearing Aunt Becky from Full House could be involved.

U .S. Attorney Andrew Lelling steps in front of the cameras.

We're here today to announce charges in the largest college admissions scam ever

prosecuted by the Department of Justice.

Fifty -one people, coaches, parents, and others are charged with crimes,

including conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering.

Rick Singer appears in court the same day.

He comes in in this, like, blue windbreaker.

He looks tired.

In a plea bargain in exchange for his cooperation, he pleads guilty to four

criminal counts, including conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

He tells the judge he is absolutely responsible.

He put everything in place.

And he just admits to it all.

He really didn't seem bothered by what he had done. He just kind of told us

happened. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Through his attorney, Rick Singer declines to speak to American Greed.

Mark Riddell, the cricket test proctor, pleads guilty to conspiracy too.

Mark, do you have any remorse for taking the test?

So does Rudy Meredith.

the Yale women's soccer coach.

Of the 34 parents charged, several plead guilty to conspiracy charges.

They include Devin Sloan, who fabricated his son's water polo picture, developer

Bruce Isaacson, Augustin Huneis, and parenting expert

Jane Buckingham.

Attorney Gordon Kaplan pleads guilty to conspiracy and is fired by his law firm.

Felicity Huffman pleads guilty to conspiracy, and she issues an apology to

students who work hard every day to get into college.

Her husband is not charged. Both declined to speak to American Greed.

Lori, pay for my tuition!

Lori! But Lori Loughlin and her husband, Massimo Giannulli, vow to fight the

charges in court.

And as she's walking in, she stops to shake hands and thank fans and smiles

them as she's coming in.

The couple pleads not guilty to multiple conspiracy counts.

But Lachlan is dropped from her TV series on the Hallmark Channel and

Isabella and Olivia are not charged, but Olivia loses her influencer gigs with

Sephora and Tresemme.

USC says it puts Olivia's and Isabella's status on hold while it reviews every

student linked to Singer. They can't register for class, but they can't drop

either.

Prosecutors say their investigation continues.

They won't rule out charging students or schools.

Eight elite colleges are touched by the scandal.

Georgetown. Stanford.

The University of Texas at Austin.

The University of San Diego.

UCLA. Wake Forest.

Yale. And USC.

All deny knowing about the fraud.

They launch investigations and promise reforms.

Daniel Golden is skeptical.

I'm not sure that the colleges necessarily hate all this publicity

scandal. I mean, if you think about it, the underlying message of Operation

Varsity Blues is that, you know, our top colleges are so desirable that our

richest and most powerful people will do absolutely anything to get their kids

into them.

Back in Carthage, New York, on Ivy Day, Dominic Malcolm has one last chance from

one last school.

The University of Pennsylvania.

She's in the Ivy League after all, but

she knows she is lucky.

You have to think about the ones that worked as hard as I did and didn't get

So many students, like, their dream is to go to an Ivy League. I never, I never

saw that coming.

That people weren't even trying at all. They were just paying their way in.

Like, to me, it's insane.