Rick Singer, the man behind the ‘Varsity Blues’ college admissions scandal, is back advising students

(NEW YORK) – Rick Singer, the man convicted of orchestrating the so-called “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal, has continued to advise prospective undergraduates on their college applications while serving his sentence in the federal prison in Florida, and now in a California one. halfway house

Singer, 64, a one-time college admissions consultant who pleaded guilty in 2019 to facilitating bribes between wealthy parents and elite colleges in exchange for their children’s tuition, told ABC News that he began to advise students – pro bono – after being convicted last time. year

Then, last admissions season, while at a federal prison camp in Pensacola, Fla., Singer said, “The coolest thing that ever happened.”

“I had a young man email me saying, ‘Could you help me with my applications and let me know if I could get into these schools?'” Singer told ABC News during an interview.

Applicant sent Singer his high school transcript and a list of his credentials. Singer, whose advice has previously been sought by high-powered executives and Hollywood actors, responded, offering some pointers. The student was accepted to his senior school in March, Singer said.

This summer, Singer launched a new company called ID Future Stars, a consulting firm that boasts an 80% to 96% acceptance rate at top-choice schools. According to the site, “Our success speaks for itself.”

But his return to the world of college admissions could be a challenge. Singer’s reputation unraveled after he pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice in the decades-long scheme that federal investigators dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues.”

Federal prosecutors in Boston said Singer facilitated $25 million changing hands from families to college administrators and athletic coaches, who would dole out spots on their lists to meet their fundraising goals. The singer transferred, spent or otherwise used more than $15 million for his own benefit, they said.

“Everything the US attorney and the FBI said, and everybody else said I did, I did,” Singer told ABC.

However, even four years later, Singer called the conspiracy a “victimless crime.”

News of the admissions scandal broke in 2019, when Andrew Lelling, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, announced charges against Singer and more than 50 others, including college coaches, test administrators and actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

The charges led to about 50 convictions and became the subject of at least four books, a Lifetime movie and a Netflix documentary.

In January 2023, a judge sentenced Singer to 42 months in federal prison. This August, he was released to a halfway house near Los Angeles.

For years, Singer said, he had run a lucrative and legitimate college consulting business. But that changed around 2011, when he realized he couldn’t push some customers through what he called the “front door.” He had become close to the students and their families, and wanted to do everything he could to help them, so he developed a new admissions scheme: the “side door”.

While Singer said most of his consulting has always been legitimate, he explained that the new scheme started with one student and soon expanded.

“There was one young man who was very talented, he worked his tail off,” Singer said. But the student would always perform poorly on the SAT or ACT practice exams.

So he found a way to get the student’s application to the top of the pile: He began bribing standardized test proctors to turn a blind eye to allowing cheating on the exams, prosecutors said .

I knew “it was wrong, and I did it anyway,” Singer said. “What are 10, 12, 13 kids who are good students, quality people, and this score can take away their chance to go to a decent school? I rationalized it to myself.”

Soon after, the stakes grew. Singer was well-known in the world of higher education, and he said the presidents of several prestigious universities had contacted him, hoping that his clients would donate millions of dollars to their schools.

He said he began arranging meetings between presidents and parents to discuss their children’s college enrollment. “Negotiations would range from whether the school was a good fit for the student to, ‘What does the president need?’ What does the family need? Would there be anything?’” he said, referring to a monetary favor.

Singer, a former basketball coach, said he sympathizes with coaches and the pressure they face to raise funds before their sports seasons. So he said he started arranging similar meetings between them and their clients. At times, he falsified students’ athletic credentials to boost their applications.

“First I went to three, four coaches. Then the word got out to all the coaches and the coaches started calling me every year,” Singer said.

“If they needed to raise $250,000 or $500,000 for the show, they would call me and say, ‘Hey, I have a spot. Do you have family that would like to come here?’” he said.

When asked if he thought his scheme might have prevented legitimate recruits from making it to a collegiate team, Singer said, “All I do is be the facilitator and give the coach that option.” .

On March 12, 2019, the day he was indicted, Singer said he left John Joseph Moakley’s courtroom in Boston and looked at his phone.

He said he had received 93 text messages in less than an hour. Most, Singer said, were from clients seeking senior advice and wondering if he could still meet with them for a consultation.

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