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The college admissions scandal was a major story with a number of celebrities being involved in paying large amounts of money to land their children at prestigious universities. It’s been a while since we heard of any new charges stemming from the scandal, but now another person has been named.
While it may not be a celebrity like actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, 48-year-old Xiaoning Sui has been arrested.
According to reports, Sui paid out $400,000 in bribes to get her son into UCLA as a scholarship soccer player despite never playing the sport competitively. Sui alleged paid the money to Rick Singer, who has been a major figure in the admissions scandal.
After the money was paid, Singer and UCLA soccer academy director Laura Janke worked together to manufacture a fake soccer profile which described him as a “top player for two private soccer clubs in Canada.”
From the official release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Massachusetts:
On Oct. 24, 2018, Singer instructed Sui to wire Singer $100,000 which would be “paid to the coach at UCLA” in exchange for a letter of intent from the UCLA soccer coach. Two days later, Sui allegedly wired $100,000 to a bank account in Massachusetts in the name of Singer’s sham charitable organization, the Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF). On Nov. 5, 2018, UCLA admitted Sui’s son as a recruited soccer player, and awarded him a 25% scholarship. In February 2018, Sui allegedly wired an additional $300,000 to the KWF account as final payment for her son’s fraudulent admission to UCLA.
Both Singer and Janke have already plead guilty in the college admissions scam, and Janke is cooperating with the government’s investigation.
Sui, meanwhile, was arrested while in Spain where she is currently detained awaiting extradition to Boston. She is officially facing charges of one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
