It looks as if the prosecutor is ratcheting up the pressure to those who refuse to cop a plea. In addition to piling on more charges, they are now starting to look at the adult children:
Feds signal adult children in 'Varsity Blues' cheating scandal may face criminal charges
Federal prosecutors sent letters to students who are over 18.
By
Aaron Katersky Apr 13, 2019 9:40 AM
Federal prosecutors in Boston have signaled that some of the adult children of parents charged in an
ongoing college cheating scandal could also face criminal charges.
Prosecutors have sent target letters to adult children who were believed to have
known about the scheme and who were at least 18 years old when it was conceived, according to a source familiar with the letters who spoke to ABC News on the condition of anonymity.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston declined to comment.
It’s unclear who received a letter or how many were sent.
U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling said in announcing the charges against parents last month that it was unclear how much the children were aware, if at all, of the cheating schemes.
Target letters typically inform a subject they are part of an investigation and encourage cooperation. By themselves the letters do not necessarily indicate the recipients will be charged.
The scandal was exposed on March 12 when Lelling announced charges against over 50 people, including many notable CEOs and actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. William Singer, who ran a college counseling service called Key Worldwide Foundation, pleaded guilty to helping students get into their chosen colleges either by cheating on the SATs or ACTs or by falsely claiming some of the applicants were student-athletes.
Singer accepted $25 million in bribes to carry out the cheating schemes, according to the indictment.