“Varsity Blues” College Admissions Scammer Is Out Of Prison & Advising Students Again

William “Rick” Singer, the mastermind behind the “Operation Varsity Blues” college admissions scam, is back advising high school students and their families.

Singer served two and a half years in prison, followed by time in a halfway house. Just months later, still under supervised release, he is now working for admissions consulting company ID Future Stars, which is owned by his sister.

Last month, District Judge Denise J. Casper ruled that Singer could indeed return to his established career in college advising — as long as he made his past violations clear on his website. Specifically, she ordered him to write a 270-word disclaimer prominently in his marketing materials that explains his charges as well as his guilty plea.

Currently, the disclaimer is placed at the top of the website’s Terms and Conditions page and reads in part: “In March 2019, Rick Singer pled guilty to federal charges-including racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice-for his role in what was widely-publicized as the ‘Varsity Blues’ college admissions scheme.”

The disclaimer lists the specific crimes, including: “bribing standardized test proctors and administrators to engage in cheating on college entrance exams (i.e., the SAT and ACT); falsifying students' academic transcripts by paying third parties to take classes in their names; falsifying students' college applications with fake awards, athletic activities, and fabricated essays; and bribing college athletic coaches and administrators.”

On another page of the website, Singer writes, “I am not afraid to tell people who I am and that I made a mistake, took full responsibility and want to share my expertise, passion, and desire to help shape our next generation's leaders by helping each find a college and career that is the right choice for each individual.”

He continues: “The important values I learned in my journey–is to stay away from the gray areas in college admissions and institutional advancement… That I will not be traveling down the uneven side of the road even when the coast looks clear, but will fiercely seek the proper guidance and support from expert counsel.”

“I want to do college and career life coaching again because–I LOVE IT! And this is my passion,” he writes.

During the scam, Singer took more than $25 million from clients and paid roughly $7 million in bribes as CEO of the Key Worldwide Foundation. He has paid back roughly $18.7 million of that sum. In court, he pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of justice.

The case resulted in the arrest of more than 50 people, including Hollywood stars like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, who both paid Singer large sums of money to get their children accepted to specific schools via cheating and bribery. Both actresses eventually pleaded guilty to their charges and served short prison sentences.