Wednesday 13 March 2019

'They worried their daughters are as stupid as their mothers.' Kellyanne Conway launches astonishing attack on Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin over admissions bribery charges

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, who were implicated in a massive cheating scandal to get their children into elite universities.
'They worried their daughters are as stupid as their mothers,' Conway, a mother of four, tweeted Tuesday evening.
She also criticized the other 48 people - which included coaches and parents - charged in a plot to get their children into schools including Georgetown, Stanford, UCLA, University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale.
'2 actresses get most attention for college admissions cheating scandal. Yet 48 others were charged, too. Coaches, athletic directors took millions. CEOs Author of ironically titled, “The Modern Girls Guide to Life” Willkie Farr law firm partner YOU FAILED THESE KIDS,' she wrote.  
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin on Twitter on Tuesday
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway slammed actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin on Twitter on Tuesday
Felicity Huffman
Lori Loughlin
Felicity Huffman (left) and Lori Loughlin (right) were implicated in a massive cheating scandal to get their children into elite universities
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The scheme was uncovered by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Boston, and involved parents paying bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into these elite schools. 
Also charged were 'The Modern Girls Guide to Life' author Jane Buckingham; and Gordon Caplan, a lawyer and a co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.'
In many instances, the children were unaware that their parents had paid these bribes, according to federal documents.
Most of those charged either paid to get higher SAT scores or faked an athletic resume that, with the participation of a bribed college coach, helped the children get accepted to a college as a team's recruit. 
Prosecutors said in court on Tuesday that some students also lied about their ethnicity on applications to take advantage of affirmative action. 
Huffman has two daughters with husband William H. Macy including Sofia, who is 18, and 16-year old Georgia. 
Loughlin and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli also have two daughters: Olivia, 19, and Isabella, 20. 
Macy was not charged but Giannulli was named alongside his wife in the papers. 
Huffman, Loughlin and Giannulli are all charged with Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud.
Aunt Becky with the bad heirs: Full House star Lori Loughlin and Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman are two of the 50 parents charged in a plot to get their children into elite schools (Loughlin with daughters Olivia and Bella in February)
Aunt Becky with the bad heirs: Full House star Lori Loughlin and Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman are two of the 50 parents charged in a plot to get their children into elite schools (Loughlin with daughters Olivia and Bella in February)
Desperate housewife: Huffman allegedly paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution' 'to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter' (Huffman and Macy with their daughters Georgia and Sofia at the Golden Globes)
Desperate housewife: Huffman allegedly paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution' 'to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter' (Huffman and Macy with their daughters Georgia and Sofia at the Golden Globes)
Support system: Huffman and Giannulli have been arrested while a warrant is out for Loughlin's arrest (William H macy, who has not been charged, arrives in court on Tuesday)
Support system: Huffman and Giannulli have been arrested while a warrant is out for Loughlin's arrest (William H macy, who has not been charged, arrives in court on Tuesday)
Fifty people charged in college admission fraud scheme
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'Beginning in or about 2011, and continuing through the present, the defendants - principally individuals whose high-school age children were applying to college - conspired with others to use bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children's admission to colleges and universities in the District of Massachusetts and elsewhere, including Yale University, Stanford University, the University of Texas, the University of Southern California, and the University of Southern California - Los Angeles,' stated the 200 page document that was filed on Tuesday.  
'This case is about the widening corruption of elite college admissions through the steady application of wealth, combined with fraud,' US Attorney Andrew Lelling said on Tuesday in a press conference.
'There can be no separate college admission for wealthy, and I will add there will not be a separate criminal justice system either.'
William Rick Singer, the founder of Key Worldwide Foundation, had been identified as the alleged mastermind behind the scandalThe documents claim that since 2011, Singer has received $25 million from parents which was then used to payoff or bribe individuals who could 'designate their children as recruited athletes, or other favored admissions categories.' 
Huffman paid a $15,000 'charitable contribution 'to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her eldest daughter,' states the complaint. 
'Huffman later made arrangements to pursue the scheme a second time, for her younger daughter, before deciding not to do so,' according to the documents.
The charging documents state that Huffman had the site where he daughter took the SATs moved from her own high school to a test center West Hollywood.
Her test was then administered by a proctor who had flown in from Tampa and told investigators that he 'facilitated cheating, either by correcting the student's answers after the test or by actively assisting the student during the exam.'
In this case, Huffman's daughter scored a 1420, which was a 400 point improvement from her PSAT results just one year prior. 
Whoadies: Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli (above with olviia after her graduation in June) used Singer to get both daughters into USC
Whoadies: Loughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli (above with olviia after her graduation in June) used Singer to get both daughters into USC
Felicity Huffman released on bail in college admissions probe
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Soon after the proctor was paid $40,000 by Key Worldwide Foundation, the same organization that Huffman would later give a $15,000 donation to, according to the documents. 
The documents also include the transcript of a phone call between Huffman and the individual who facilitated the test in which she admits that her older daughter had assistance and expresses her desire for her younger daughter to get similar help. 
In a follow up call just this past December, Huffman and her unnamed spouse spoke about their daughter wanting to get into Georgetown.
It was then decided that the young girl would take the exam twice, one on her own and once with help, to ensure she got the score necessary to get her into Georgetown, it is claimed.

PARENTS CHARGED IN OPERATION VARSITY BLUES

William Rick Singer, the 'mastermind' 
Rudolph Meredith 
Mark Riddell 
John Vandemoer 
Igor Dvorskiy 
Gordon Ernst 
William Ferguson 
Martin Fox
Donna Heinel 
Laura Janke 
Ali Khosroshahin 
Steven Masera
Jorge Salcedo 
Mikaela Sanford
David Sidoo
Jovan Vavic
Niki Williams 
Gregory and Marcia Abbott 
Gamal Abdelaziz
Diane and Todd Blake
Jane Buckingham 
Gordon Caplan 
Michael Center
I-Hsin "Joey" Chen 
Amy and Gregory Colburn 
Robert Flaxman 
Lori Loughlan and Mossimo Giannulli
Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez
Douglas Hodge 
Felicity Huffman 
Agustin Huneeus 
Bruce and Davina Isackson
Michelle Janavs
Elisabeth Kimmel 
Marjorie Klapper
Toby MacFarlane 
Bill McGlashan 
Marci Palatella 
Peter Jan Sartorio 
Stephen Semprevivo 
Devin Sloane 
John Wilson 
Houmayoun Zadeg 
Robert Zangrillo  

Then, at the last second, the couple decided not to have their daughter take the test with assistance.  
Loughlin and Giannulli 'agreed to pay bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team - despite the fact that they did not participate in crew - thereby facilitating their admission to USC,' according to the documents. 
The couple emailed Singer in 2016 about their daughters college prospects, stating that they wanted to do the necessary work to see that the girls got into USC as opposed to ASU.
Emails obtained by investigators revealed that it was soon decided that bribes would be paid to have the girls recruited as crew coxswains. 
A short time after that, photos were taken of older daughter Isabella on an ergometer. 
Dr. Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director at USC, presented Isabella as a potential athletic recruit a month later and she was approved for conditional admission.
It was then asked that a check be sent to Heinle for $50,000 from Giannulli, who a short time later asked if he could mention the story to the athletic director at USC when the two men were at Augusta, likely playing at the famed golf club.
Singer stated that this was not a good idea because when he discussed the possibility of Isabella's admission with him a year he thought the family 'would be good for a million plus.'  
Isabella received her admission letter the following March, which was followed by another note requesting a donation of $200,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation. 
After the amount was wired to the organization a note was returned that stated no good or services had been exchanged for the money, which according to the documents is false.
This same exact process was then repeated with the young daughter, Olivia, it is claimed.
Problems arose however when Olivia's guidance counselor became curious as to how she managed to receive admission based on her involvement in crew since she did not row. 
At the same time, Loughlin complained that her daughter was having difficulty filling out her other college applications, prompting Singer to ask an employee to take care of that task. 
This was done so as not to draw attention to the fact that it was already confirmed that she had received conditional admission to the school. 
Then, at some point, there was a very heated and public altercation between Giannulli and the counselor, which elicited an email from Dr Heinel asking that this not happen in the future so as to avoid detection.

This all began to fall apart in October 2018 when the IRS audited Key Worldwide and began to look into donations made by parents whose children were then admitted to USC. 

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