All language subtitles for American Greed s13e01 The College Admissions Scandal

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.