Nationwide College Cheating Scandal - Actresses, Business Owners Charged, Mar 2019 - #2

[kaen]

Link to the Scribd:

Felicity Huffman plea agreement | Plea Bargain | United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines

 

[kaen]

All of the plea deals can be found at Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme

(at the bottom of the page)

Interesting is that these are the sentencing guidelines

Buckingham is rated at an 11 with sentence recommendation at lower end of guideline
Caplan is rated at an 11 with sentence recommendation at lower end of guideline
B Isackson is rated at an 21 (3 counts) with a sentence recommendation at lower end of guideline
Semprevivo is rated at 16 with a sentence recommendation of 18 months
Abbott is rated at 13 with sentence recommendation of 12 months and 1 day

Huffman is the only one I read where it says the defendant can argue a lower sentencing guideline in court. ETA: Klapper can also argue lower but they are the only two.

and there is more at the link.

 

[scdiv]

That Bruce Isackson guy has some extra charges - "Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud; money laundering conspiracy; and conspiracy to defraud the United States"

 

[Herat]

That Bruce Isackson guy has some extra charges - "Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud; money laundering conspiracy; and conspiracy to defraud the United States"

"Money laundering" is the one that catches my eye

If anyone is going to prison, it's him

I believe his daughter has been kicked out of UCLA, too. Nice work, Dad

And now he's clearly in the teeth of the IRS with that "conspiracy to defraud the United States"

Huffman is really small potatoes compared to this fraud

 

[squareandrabbet]

*facepalm* Yeah I think that goes for pretty much everyone who's facing punishment for illegal acts. Safe to say there's prisons full of people who wouldn't have done what they did if they knew they'd get caught.

Does Olivia Jade actually think that statement makes her look good?!

All MOO/JMO

I think the fake picture-posing moments would have been an excellent time for OJ to chime in with the wisdom about only getting one reputation... though I'm not one of those people who think that once they reach the age of 18 every teenager mysteriously acquires the ability to go up against their parents' illegal or immoral wishes, OJ doesn't seem like a retiring or shy child, lol.

 

[gregjrichards]

Felicity Huffman and 13 other wealthy defendants in the college bribery scam pleaded guilty on Monday and are likely to receive less than a year in prison.

But the other major celebrity name indicted in the affair, actor Lori Loughlin, was not one of those who copped a plea on Monday.

The Full House star and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have also been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

Loughlin, 54, and Mossimo, 55, are two of approximately 50 allegedly involved in a countrywide scam to bribe people at colleges including Yale.

Full House star Lori Loughlin's name was noticeably absent from the guilty pleas entered in court | Daily Mail Online

 

[kaen]

That Bruce Isackson guy has some extra charges - "Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud; money laundering conspiracy; and conspiracy to defraud the United States"

There are a couple of them that have multiple charges. I find it interesting that they are pleading so quickly. The prosecuting team must be thrilled to have them rolling.

In the document I linked, there are people with cooperation agreements as well as plea agreements.

 

[BeachSky]

From the link:

"But Paperny said the most important conversations he's had with many are about accepting responsibility, which he believes can lead to a more lenient sentence.

'I would encourage defendants, any defendants, if they broke the law to own it, to acknowledge it, to run not walk towards taking a plea agreement,' Paperny said. 'Those that respond more appropriately should get better prison sentences.'"

Looks like several defendants are taking that approach - admit responsibility and display remorse.

Will be interesting if Lori and Mossimo will pay attention to that advice.

jmo

Yeah, take away all the pens from Lori!

 

[mickey2942]

There are a couple of them that have multiple charges. I find it interesting that they are pleading so quickly. The prosecuting team must be thrilled to have them rolling.

In the document I linked, there are people with cooperation agreements as well as plea agreements.

I find this very interesting, "Mail Fraud" was the major charge against most of the accused. So, if they had not used USPS for mailing the untruthful college applications there wouldn't be any charges? Is that the crux of the matter? I don't understand the "mail fraud" tie in...that seems to be reaching quite a bit with the law.

I understand the bribery issue, but it appears that the "bribes" don't have the same legal ramifications as the mail fraud charges.

 

[kaen]

I find this very interesting, "Mail Fraud" was the major charge against most of the accused. So, if they had not used USPS for mailing the untruthful college applications there wouldn't be any charges? Is that the crux of the matter? I don't understand the "mail fraud" tie in...that seems to be reaching quite a bit with the law.

I understand the bribery issue, but it appears that the "bribes" don't have the same legal ramifications as the mail fraud charges.

Mail fraud is not just a USPS "payment or action by mail" fraud. The definition has changed over the course of time. (Maybe it Should Just Be Called Federal Fraud: The Changing Nature of the Mail Fraud Statute by Peter J. Henning :: SSRN) and (Mail and wire fraud - Wikipedia)

 

[mickey2942]

Mail fraud is not just a USPS "payment or action by mail" fraud. The definition has changed over the course of time. (Maybe it Should Just Be Called Federal Fraud: The Changing Nature of the Mail Fraud Statute by Peter J. Henning :: SSRN) and (Mail and wire fraud - Wikipedia)

Interesting article. But in the end, the essential element of the crime that must be proven without a doubt, is the use of mail, or other carrier to perpetrate the fraud.

Just throwing this out there...if the application was done online, with a credit card, that throws out a major crux/charge in the case. No proof of mail fraud.

My daughter applied for college, and she did everything online, including uploading documents. Even the SAT scores were accessed by a computer code. Everything was done electronically. Even the fees were paid with a credit card (significantly less than $500,000).

If there was no use of mail in the application process, a major part of the case is gone. This may be why some people are not taking a plea.

 

[neesaki]

Interesting article. But in the end, the essential element of the crime that must be proven without a doubt, is the use of mail, or other carrier to perpetrate the fraud.

Just throwing this out there...if the application was done online, with a credit card, that throws out a major crux/charge in the case. No proof of mail fraud.

My daughter applied for college, and she did everything online, including uploading documents. Even the SAT scores were accessed by a computer code. Everything was done electronically. Even the fees were paid with a credit card (significantly less than $500,000).

If there was no use of mail in the application process, a major part of the case is gone. This may be why some people are not taking a plea.

If electronically I believe it would be wire fraud.
I wonder why it’s not both mail and wire fraud. Seems they would have done something electronically in addition to using the US mail.
Mail Fraud | Wire Fraud

 

[neesaki]

Felicity Huffman: Prosecutors want prison time for actress who pleaded guilty in college admissions scam - CNN

Not sure if TMZ is considered a very legitimate news source, but....
Lori Loughlin Offered 2 Years Minimum Prison Sentence in Plea Negotiations

 

[JerseyGirl]

That Bruce Isackson guy has some extra charges - "Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud; money laundering conspiracy; and conspiracy to defraud the United States"

Bruce and Davina Isackson will cop to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud to get their non-soccer-playing daughter Lauren into UCLA as an athletic recruit — and to cheat on their younger daughter’s college entrance exams.

Bruce will also plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the IRS for deducting the payments from their taxes as charitable contributions.

The couple released a statement saying they are “profoundly sorry” — and admitting to embarrassing their kids.

The parents paid Singer $251,249 in Facebook stock, which he used to help Lauren secure a spot at the school by paying off the head coach of UCLA men’s soccer, Jorge Salcedo.

The Isacksons then gave Rick Singer another $350,692 worth of unspecified stock to get the answers changed on their daughter’s college entrance exams — and to get her recruited to the University of Southern California as a bogus rowing recruit.

https://nypost.com/2019/04/08/couple-who-bribed-daughter-into-ucla-to-plead-guilty/

 

[JerseyGirl]

Not sure if TMZ is considered a very legitimate news source, but....
Lori Loughlin Offered 2 Years Minimum Prison Sentence in Plea Negotiations

Should they [Loughlin/Mossmio] or any other parents not reach a plea deal, their case will go to a federal grand jury, where charges, including money laundering, will be added. Those additional charges will reportedly "significantly" raise the prison sentence minimum.

Lori Loughlin Reportedly Faces an 2-Year Minimum Jail Sentence for College Admissions Cheating Case

https://pagesix.com/2019/04/09/lori-loughlin-and-husband-could-face-two-years-in-prison/

 

[JerseyGirl]

In other news....

After fumble with punctuation issues, Olivia Jade's beauty trademark application is salvaged

After initially denying Olivia Jade's initial trademark request due to issues with "proper punctuation," the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has accepted the beauty guru's edited application.

The "Olivia Jade" trademark application was approved as of April 2 and will move onto the next stage of the process.

Giannulli's previous application, dated March 15, had a handful of issues with a lack of punctuation, which made it difficult to clarify exactly what her makeup kits would be comprised of: "make-up setting spray lipstick lip gloss" should be separated by commas and the lack of punctuation could be interpreted as a single entity.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Felicity Huffman is facing up to ten months in jail | Daily Mail Online

The 13 others who also agreed to plead guilty are Jane Buckingham, Gordon Caplan, Robert Flaxman, Agustin Huneeus, Marjorie Klapper, Gregory Abbott, Marcia Abbott, Peter Jan Sartorio, Stephen Semprevivo, Devin Sloane and Bruce and Davina Isackson.

 

[btfly547]

....

 

[btfly547]

If I'm judging them as a family, where is William H. Macy's statement admitting his guilt or will he only be sorry too if they have enough evidence to bring him to trial.

I feel sorry for their daughter if she didn't know but seriously how did she not know something was up if she was suddenly diagnosed with a learning difficulty and took the test offsite

I read through the charges for Felicity and I think her daughter had to know. I think she's saying her daughter had no clue just to try to save some of her daughter's reputation.
Her daughter had her test "proctored" by the test taker guy from Florida and took it over 2 days and score went up 400 points. I'm guessing she went from 1000 to 1400.

I know with some of the charges the test taker guy actually changed answers after the fact but I don't think that's what happened here. Their version of proctoring sounds like "if you're not sure on one of the answers let me know and I'll talk you through it".

There was one of the other kids that wasn't even at the testing center on the 2nd test day when they pulled cellphone records. I forget which one that was but I found it when I first read through the list of charges when it came out. My guess is well over half of these kids knew something was up even if they didn't know the major details behind it and that large amounts of money were involved.

 

[Inthedetails]

I read through the charges for Felicity and I think her daughter had to know. I think she's saying her daughter had no clue just to try to save some of her daughter's reputation.
Her daughter had her test "proctored" by the test taker guy from Florida and took it over 2 days and score went up 400 points. I'm guessing she went from 1000 to 1400.

I know with some of the charges the test taker guy actually changed answers after the fact but I don't think that's what happened here. Their version of proctoring sounds like "if you're not sure on one of the answers let me know and I'll talk you through it".

There was one of the other kids that wasn't even at the testing center on the 2nd test day when they pulled cellphone records. I forget which one that was but I found it when I first read through the list of charges when it came out. My guess is well over half of these kids knew something was up even if they didn't know the major details behind it and that large amounts of money were involved.

I think Felicity's daughter knew she was getting some extra help and a nudge to make her scores better. I don't think she knew it was illegal. Just my hunch.

Felicity is coming off looking good, in comparison to Lori, but she went behind her daughter's back (imo) and also behind her husband's back. He didn't want to pursue the $15,ooo payment for cheating services, though he did with Daughter#1. She issued a nice apology that I hope was sincere, but she did all this not only to sneak behind college admissions but also to sneak behind her own family. Not cool.

jmo