Mystery parent paid $6.5 million to get kids into top universities as part of admissions scandal

[Zorro]

Of the many outrageous allegations revealed by federal prosecutors in the college cheating scandal, one stands out.

Someone paid $6.5 million to get his or her children into elite schools. But the identity of that parent — and details about which schools were involved — remains a mystery nearly two weeks after authorities in Boston filed the charges against dozens of wealthy individuals.

The lack of information about the money is more notable given that the charges go into intense detail about the alleged actions of other parents, who are accused of bribing and cheating to get their kids into schools such as Yale, USC and UCLA.

Prosecutors have mentioned the $6.5 million in payments at a news conference and in court. But they are not included in the hundreds of pages detailing the charges.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/california/la-me-college-admissions-bribe-fixer-20190324-story.html

That's a lot of scratch.

[Power 2 the People]

1. Must be a big fish.

[dawg day]

2. How unready would these kids have to be to be worth THAT.

He/she'd do better to sponsor 60 poor but hard-working students. Much better return on the investment.

[Phentex]

3. Who knows how big this becomes?

I feel like they've probably just scratched the surface. I'm betting there's a lot of scrubbing going on in the homes of some of these "elites"

[D_Master81]

4. Guaranteed this gets bigger

Much like most scandals, the initial story breaks and then the flood gates open. Does anyone really think there’s only 50 people out there paying or receiving payments?

[FakeNoose]

5. Is his kid really THAT stupid?

It would have been cheaper to hire fulltime tutors to make sure this dolt-kid actually learned something. Then he/she could have gotten decent SAT scores and high school grades, and maybe .. qualified for college on his own?

[Hekate]

6. That's just weird, because that much money entitles them to a legal and traditional process...

The donor endows an important "chair," or donates a new wing to the Chemistry building or a new Theater Arts program. Something academically meaningful, in other words. And very, very public.

And in gratitude, the university is only too happy to have the donor's kids at that institution. Even their grandkids, for gods' sake. After all, they might bless the college with more money down the line.

Of all the stupid schemers, this is the one that just puzzles me.

[mopinko]

7. you really have to wonder. budding sex criminal?

gotta be more than just stupid.

[Agschmid]

8. With that amount shouldn't they have just donated to the alumni program?

Put their name on a building? Etc?

[Rhiannon12866]

9. Well, we know it wasn't Trump

He doesn't have that kind of money and his kids didn't turn out to be all that bright.

[Yavin4]

10. Why not just give the kid the $6.5 million?

If he/she just puts in a safe investment, they could live well for the rest of their lives. At a 2.5% annual return, that's roughly a $162,000 annual salary for doing absolutely nothing.

[Progressive Law]

11. Because there's no prestige in that.

These parents are not paying bribes just so that their kids can get a college degree and eventually a well-paying job.

The parents are paying bribes, in part, so that they can brag about having produced "intelligent" children.

[erpowers]

12. That Would Have Been Better

Giving the kid $6.5 million would have been better than using that money to bribe the kid's way into college. Why spend that much money to get a kid into college? Were they hoping that going to an ivy league college would have allowed the kid to get a Wall Street/financial job that would have paid him/her millions of dollars a year instead of the hundreds of thousands of dollars a year the he/she would have gotten from just investing the money? Were the parents just paying for the professional network and/or the bragging rights that come with getting your kid into an ivy league college? Were the parents paying for the benefits that comes from someone being connected to the ivy league professional network?

[JI7]

14. because college for them is not about making a good living but about bragging to their social

circles.

[meadowlander]

13. Betsy DeVos? She has four kids born in the 80s and 90s.

I'm not saying it's true but, you know, people are saying.