U.S. Throws Lori Loughlin’s Words in Her Face in College Scandal
U.S. Throws Lori Loughlin’s Words in Her Face in College Scandal
(Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors preparing to try actor Lori Loughlin, private equity star Bill McGlashan and a dozen other parents swept up in the college admissions scandal rejected their claim that the case is tainted, wielding their own words as weapons.
In a 36-page argument filed late Wednesday in response to the parents’ request to have the case thrown out, they cited familiar but powerful excerpts of secretly recorded phone calls with the scam’s admitted mastermind, William “Rick” Singer. Singer, who cooperated in an FBI sting, described the crime, and Loughlin acknowledged it, according to the government.
“Nothing has been said” about “your donations helping the girls get into USC to do crew even though they didn’t do crew,” Singer said. Loughlin replied, according to the transcript: “So we just -- so we just have to say we made a donation to your foundation and that’s it, end of story?”
The parents contend that notes the corrupt college counselor made while trying to elicit incriminating statements from them prove the government pressured him to tuck “fibs” into the conversations. In one note, Singer wrote that the U.S. wanted to “nail” prominent New York attorney Gordon Caplan “at all costs.” The defense had asked the court to dismiss the case or at least exclude the recordings from evidence, citing “extraordinary” prosecutorial misconduct.
Singer has admitted to helping his clients’ children cheat on college entrance exams and paying off coaches to put the kids’ names on recruiting lists, ensuring admission to elite universities from Stanford to Georgetown to Yale. Many parents snared in the scandal say they thought their payments were legitimate donations going to support college athletic programs.
In their filing Wednesday, prosecutors called the distinction meaningless, the conduct a classic quid pro quo and the defense claims “flatly untrue.” They admitted they should have turned over Singer’s notes to the defense earlier, instead of almost a year after more than 50 people were arrested in the largest admissions racket the U.S. has ever prosecuted. They blamed the delay on concerns the notes were privileged. Singer’s lawyer waived that privilege in February.
In addition to the 14 parents going to trial, more than 20 have pleaded guilty to fraud charges, many already done with their prison terms.
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