College administration bribery scandal

Prancer

Chitarrista
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I can't apologize for being entertained by what I think of as a miniscule scandal compared to the horrors that are going on throughout the world these days, but I do apologize for using your post as my entryway.

For what it's worth, *I* think it's entertaining. Most people like to see the arrogant hoist by their own petards.

Have been seeing a lot to headlines about "Aunt Becky" this weekend including one that the show she was fired from just got renewed for another season (without her) and that got me to thinking. Hallmark was pretty quick to fire her and I didn't see any public support from her castmates either. Makes me wonder what she was like to work with.

I've seen a few things, but not many. I don't know that that's a sign that she is a bad co-worker, though. The general impression I have is that everyone kind of thinks that it's completely believable that she would do something like this for her daughters and what are you going to say?
 

Garden Kitty

Tranquillo
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Have been seeing a lot to headlines about "Aunt Becky" this weekend including one that the show she was fired from just got renewed for another season (without her) and that got me to thinking. Hallmark was pretty quick to fire her and I didn't see any public support from her castmates either. Makes me wonder what she was like to work with.

The show's star posted a message that didn't mention Lori by name, but was assumed by most people to be a sign of support for Lori.
 

MacMadame

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For what it's worth, *I* think it's entertaining. Most people like to see the arrogant hoist on their own petards.
Plus given how few students per year and how few schools are involved, there are so few victims here. College admissions have always had a capricious aspect to them as well so it's possible some of these students would have been admitted anyway making even fewer victims.

Not that I find it entertaining per se. I'm still careening between horrified, fascinated and perplexed.

The general impression I have is that everyone kind of thinks that it's completely believable that she would do something like this for her daughters and what are you going to say?
Which says something about her (and not something good IMO) and explains why many of their friends and colleagues are distancing themselves from the couple as said in that article posted above.

The "support" supposedly shown was pretty soft and in another headline I saw, there was an excerpt from someone on the show (maybe that same person, name seemed familar) who said something along the lines of "this is making things difficult for our show." Which is not much support at all.
 

Vagabond

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Plus given how few students per year and how few schools are involved, there are so few victims here.
What we have seen may be only the tip of the iceberg. I suspect, however, that bribing middle men to get accommodations on the SAT is a lot more common than bribing coaches because the cost of the accommodations is a lot lower.
 

Prancer

Chitarrista
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Which says something about her (and not something good IMO)

Meh. All it says to me is she probably brags about her kids too much and everyone is really tired of hearing it.

I saw some fluff piece the other day saying that she doesn't want to plead guilty because of what it will say to her kids, and I thought that if that's true, it explains much. But who knows?

For real? I mean, it's is no Fyre Festival, but there's been plenty of entertainment in this scandal :watch:.

:lol: I am with missing. This is a fluffy scandal. I mean, if you think this is horrifying, what emotion and adjective would you use to describe your reaction to something really horrible?

But then again, the only thing that has surprised me about this is that some people got caught, so that might have something to do with it.
 

MacMadame

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What we have seen may be only the tip of the iceberg.
I'd be surprised. Now I'm sure that there are more parents involved in this particular scheme than the ones they had enough evidence to catch, but I'd be surprised if there are tons of setups like this one.

It's much safer to pay for SAT tutors, to shop mental health professionals to get one to say your kid needs accommodations, make a donation to the school, and things like that. But anything farther than that is very risky and not necessarily worth it when you can do these lower risk things and improve your kid's chances quite a lot.

Even paying someone to take the SAT for your kid (which is something we've all heard whispers happens) is farther than most people are willing to go. Or making a donation to a sports program (not the coach!) so the coach will say your kid is being recruited for the team. [There was an investigation a few years back into something like that happening.]

But more than that? The consequences are just too harsh if you get caught!
 

KCC

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We just received a magazine from UC Davis featuring a couple on the cover that donated $5 million to the college of engineering. My first thought was "I wonder which of their kids will get admitted."
 

taf2002

Fluff up your tutu & dance away.....
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The crew coach they paid has also pled not guilty. I can't imagine what her defense would be. Maybe she's just buying time.

I didn't understand the money laundering charge at first but now I understand that the people who paid big money to Singer who then laundered it thru his "charity" got to take these bribes off their income tax. That's a lot more serious than just boosting SAT scores.
 

WillyElliot

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I'm questioning their strategy. It just makes them appear more entitled and 'above' being punished. Especially when there is all the evidence and proof right there.
 

Prancer

Chitarrista
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I didn't understand the money laundering charge at first but now I understand that the people who paid big money to Singer who then laundered it thru his "charity" got to take these bribes off their income tax. That's a lot more serious than just boosting SAT scores.

I guess that depends on how seriously you take boosting SAT scores. It's all fraud, after all.

I don't think people take things like this seriously. I think most people would know that what they were doing was wrong but not that they were engaging in money laundering.

But that's Lori Loughlin and people like her, who, even if they have lawyers advising them, don't necessarily grasp the situation accurately. What I found rather boggling was that there were lawyers doing this--and lawyers who, on recordings, explicitly acknowledged that what they were doing was illegal in multiple ways.

I'm not sure what the ones pleading not guilty think is going to happen here, because it certainly seems like the evidence is pretty damning.

But back to entertainment value. I mean, there are things like this out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=LbqKdEPBrlA
 

MacMadame

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The crew coach they paid has also pled not guilty. I can't imagine what her defense would be. Maybe she's just buying time.
I wonder how many of the coaches took the money for themselves vs. how many took it for their programs. If they took it for their programs, they can claim they thought it was a donation and that they sincerely thought these kids were going to do those sports. It depends on the evidence against them and how strong it is whether they can get away with that.
I didn't understand the money laundering charge at first but now I understand that the people who paid big money to Singer who then laundered it thru his "charity" got to take these bribes off their income tax. That's a lot more serious than just boosting SAT scores.
Personally, if I were to do such a thing (which I would not), I would not claim it on my taxes just to be safe.

I'm questioning their strategy. It just makes them appear more entitled and 'above' being punished. Especially when there is all the evidence and proof right there.
It's not a good look for the public but it's a pretty common legal strategy. (This may also be what the coaches are doing.)
 

WillyElliot

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I wonder how many of the coaches took the money for themselves vs. how many took it for their programs. If they took it for their programs, they can claim they thought it was a donation and that they sincerely thought these kids were going to do those sports. It depends on the evidence against them and how strong it is whether they can get away with that.

Personally, if I were to do such a thing (which I would not), I would not claim it on my taxes just to be safe.

You would think no one would be THAT stupid to claim that on their taxes, but then again, doing what they did was incredibly stupid.
 

taf2002

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Prancer said:
I guess that depends on how seriously you take boosting SAT scores. It's all fraud, after all.

I take it very serious. Others find it entertaining. YMMV

Prancer said:
I don't think people take things like this seriously. I think most people would know that what they were doing was wrong but not that they were engaging in money laundering.

Maybe most people wouldn't know to call it money laundering but they had to know they were cheating on their income tax return by saying it was a donation to charity.
 

Jenny

From the Bloc
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The Loughlins continue to make this worse for themselves, but then again, the whole lot of them seem to be living on another planet from the rest of us. They aren't the only ones who pleaded not guilty, must be some sort of legal strategy, but to continue to make statements, I-don't-care-appearances, and that kid of theirs, wow. Maybe they have a good lawyer but they need a new PR person, and they need to listen to them, stat.

They also don't seem to get that other than the million other reasons this is wrong, they paid $500,000 to get a total airbrain narcissist into college! Half a million dollars!! Good luck getting any sympathy or understanding from the people who watch your shows for that one.

At first I thought the daughter had shot at surviving this, but the more she opens her mouth the more I think her so-called followers are going to drift off, likely toward one of the hundreds (thousands?) of other "influencers" who are doing a much better job of this than she is.

Such a contrast to Huffman and her humble words, wanting to put it behind them. I think she will survive, particularly if she has friends in the industry who will hire her for smaller films, cable shows, theatre, get her back on the road based on actual talent rather than notariaty.
 

skatesindreams

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Such a contrast to Huffman and her humble words, wanting to put it behind them. I think she will survive, particularly if she has friends in the industry who will hire her for smaller films, cable shows, theatre, get her back on the road based on actual talent rather than notariaty.

I find myself hoping that she can avoid jail time; despite the recommendation/wishes of the Prosecutors.
The consequences, humiliation and embarrassment Huffman are now experiencing will likely continue for some time to come.
In her case, that seems punishment enough.
 

MacMadame

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I find myself hoping that she can avoid jail time; despite the recommendation/wishes of the Prosecutors.
The consequences, humiliation and embarrassment Huffman are now experiencing will likely continue for some time to come.
In her case, that seems punishment enough.
In the story, it was reported that her plea deal included the ability to argue that she should be convicted of the a lesser charge that the sentencing guidelines including a possibility of no jail time. I suspect her legal team is working on that.
 

KCC

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This article briefly mentions the two black moms that got jail time for enrolling their kids in a school outside of their assigned school districts. One woman used her father's address, and the other woman was homeless. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/opin...d-justice-in-college-scandal-jones/index.html

If the parents in the college scandal do not receive jail time, then I'd bet there will be a front page story comparing these cases.
 

Prancer

Chitarrista
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This article briefly mentions the two black moms that got jail time for enrolling their kids in a school outside of their assigned school districts. One woman used her father's address, and the other woman was homeless. https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/16/opin...d-justice-in-college-scandal-jones/index.html

If the parents in the college scandal do not receive jail time, then I'd bet there will be a front page story comparing these cases.

I've seen that argument since the first day of the scandal, so I will be surprised if someone doesn't do a column on the subject at some point, if nothing else.

I've been reading about the "not guilty" pleas. Nary a one that I have seen has denied the facts of the case; the arguments all turn on interpretations of the laws involved. And most analyses say that they can all afford the lawyers and the time to make a good run at winning.

I certainly understand wanting to stay out of prison, but....everything they do just underlines their privilege in red.
 

becca

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I've seen that argument since the first day of the scandal, so I will be surprised if someone doesn't do a column on the subject at some point, if nothing else.

I've been reading about the "not guilty" pleas. Nary a one that I have seen has denied the facts of the case; the arguments all turn on interpretations of the laws involved. And most analyses say that they can all afford the lawyers and the time to make a good run at winning.

I certainly understand wanting to stay out of prison, but....everything they do just underlines their privilege in red.

I think they should have some prison time. I don’t think for Felicity it should be a lot.
 

kittyjake5

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I agree that jail time is deserved but my gut feeling tells me that in exchange for their guilty pleas, community service, fines and probation
will be handed out like candy.
 

MacMadame

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I agree that jail time is deserved but my gut feeling tells me that in exchange for their guilty pleas, community service, fines and probation
will be handed out like candy.
I actually have no issue with that for those that were involved in a low level.

I would say the problem isn't that they are going to get probation, a fine, and community service but that other parents like those in that article above spent more than a month in jail for doing something questionable but in a gray area.
 

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