WWTBAM Bored

jarnon wrote:

Spock wrote:Just read this in the Economist's version of the story.

>>>"Mr. Caplan, the international lawyer, allegedly faked a learning disability diagnosis for his daughter."<<<

Ponder that for a second. Having a learning disability helps you get into our elite colleges.

No, the accommodations given to learning disabled students would give a non-disabled student an unfair advantage. An actual learning disability is still disadvantageous. (Ritalin for ADHD is a common example.)

BOSTON – The Justice Department suffered a setback in June when the first defendant sentenced in the nation's college admissions scandal, a former Stanford University sailing coach, avoided any prison time.

The prosecution soon has an opportunity to rebound as the historic "Varsity Blues" case enters a critical new phase.

Parents who pleaded guilty to paying Rick Singer, the mastermind of a nationwide college admissions cheating and bribery scheme, are set to be sentenced, beginning next week. Fifteen parents, three college coaches and two other co-conspirators of Singer are to be sentenced this fall.

First up is one of the two celebrities charged in the sweeping case: actress Felicity Huffman, whose sentencing is set for Sept. 13. In a deal with prosecutors, Huffman pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for paying Singer $15,000 to have someone correct her daughter's SAT answers.

A stiff sentence that includes prison time – particularly for one of the highest-profile defendants in the case – could send the message prosecutors had hoped for in the sentencing of former Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer.

Looking to "set the tone" out of the gate, prosecutors sought 13 months in prison for Vandemoer. He admitted taking $610,000 in payments from Singer in exchange for designating applicants as sailing recruits to get them into the prestigious university. He was sentenced to two years' supervised release and a $10,000 fine.

BOSTON — A federal judge Friday sentenced actress Felicity Huffman to 14 days in prison in the nation's college admissions scandal, giving prosecutors a crucial win as they seek prison sentences for other parents charged in the historic case.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani also sentenced Huffman to a $30,000 fine, supervised release for one year and 250 hours of community service for paying $15,000 to have someone correct answers on the SAT exam of her oldest daughter, Sophia.

It marked the case's first sentencing of a parent – one who happens to be famous.

"I don’t think anyone wants to go to prison," Talwani said. "I do think this is the right thing here. I think without this sentence you would be looking at a future with a community around you asking how you got away with this."

Huffman in May pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

She was confronted in Boston federal court Friday by a prosecutor who argued for a one-month prison term, telling the judge Huffman showed "disdain and contempt for the rule of law" by cheating. But her legal team argued that she should not be treated "more harshly" because of her wealth and fame.

jarnon wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2019 5:45 am

Here's another one from a local college. Big surprise: the dad is also a big-time crook.

Man Who Bribed Son Into Penn Guilty in $1.3 Billion Health Fraud

(That's billion with a B.)