'Loud and Abrasive Call' Might Ruin College Scandal Case

Court filing releases notes from Rick Singer's iPhone
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 26, 2020 7:19 PM CST
College Scandal Mastermind: Feds Angrily Told Me to Lie
In this March 12, 2019 file photo, William "Rick" Singer founder of the Edge College & Career Network, departs federal court in Boston after he pleaded guilty to charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

Lori Loughlin, wondering what to read tonight? Try TMZ. The tabloid news site reports that Rick Singer, ringleader in the college admissions scandal, says the FBI angrily told him to lie about a key aspect of the case. One accused parent, Elisabeth Kimmel, made a legal filing Wednesday that claims the government has—very late in the game—released notes from Singer's iPhone. "Loud and abrasive call with agents," he writes. "They continue to ask me to tell a fib and not restate what I told my clients as to where there [sic] money was going—to the program, not the coach and that it was a donation and they want it to be a payment." If true, it means Singer told parents their money was becoming a school donation, not a bribe.

TMZ says this "goes to the heart of the government's case—namely, where the parents thought the money was going. If they thought it was going to the school, prosecutors may have had the rug pulled out from under them." For Loughlin and other defendants, this "may be the smoking gun." Meanwhile, prosecutors kept quiet about a closed-door meeting with Singer last Thursday, per the Boston Herald. Feds grabbed his assets only two weeks ago, including his share of a former English Premier League soccer club. Singer organized the admissions scheme, taking money from parents to help get their children into top universities. (A Hot Pockets heiress was just sentenced in the scandal.)

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