LOS ANGELES _ The family of a Chinese student admitted to Stanford paid $6.5 million to the consultant at the heart of the college admissions scandal, whom they met through a Morgan Stanley financial adviser, people familiar with the matter said.
Yusi Zhao, who also goes by Molly, was admitted to Stanford in the spring of 2017, and her family, who live in Beijing, paid Newport Beach college consultant William "Rick" Singer the seven-figure sum to compensate for the work he did to get their daughter into the highly selective school, people familiar with the matter said.
Singer has pleaded guilty to committing an array of crimes while orchestrating a bribery and cheating scheme in which he rigged students' entrance exams and bribed coaches to secure slots universities reserved for athletic recruits.
To ensure she was admitted to Stanford, Singer targeted the school's sailing program, putting her forth as a competitive sailor despite there being no indication she competed in the sport, the people familiar with the matter said.
It was not immediately known with whom Singer worked inside the university. Stanford's former sailing coach, John Vandemoer, has pleaded guilty to racketeering and admitted to working with Singer.
The $6.5 million figure has stood out for its size since prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office in Boston unveiled their case in March. While 33 parents have been charged so far in a sprawling investigation of fraud, bribes and deceit in the college admission process, none is accused of spending sums that even approach what Zhao's family are said to have paid. Prosecutors declined to comment on the case.
Most of the parents are accused of paying between $15,000 and $50,000 to have their children's test scores rigged; those who wanted to access Singer's "side door" _ his term for using bribes to secure admission slots reserved for recruited athletes _ typically paid about $250,000. The family of Sherry Guo paid $1.2 million to help get their daughter into Yale, Guo's attorney has said.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit for a warrant that Singer's clients paid him up to $6.5 million per applicant, but the amount was not tied to a name in court documents.
Zhao and her parents haven't been charged. Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts have charged the 33 parents implicated in the scheme so far with fraud conspiracy and money laundering offenses. Fourteen parents have said they will plead guilty or have already pleaded guilty.
It is believed Zhao's parents met Singer through the manager of a Los Angeles-area branch of investment bank Morgan Stanley. Sources familiar with the manager said she often brought Singer into the office, and encouraged her financial advisors to offer his college consulting services to their clients.
The manager did not respond to a request for comment. Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Singer's college consulting business was on a Morgan Stanley list of referral agencies until 2015, a person familiar with the situation said. Singer kept in contact with some Morgan Stanley advisers after being taken off the list, the person said.
It's unclear whether Zhao is still a student at the university. Stanford said last month it had expelled a student who had submitted a falsified application. E.J. Miranda, a spokesman for the university, would not identify the student.
Yusi Zhao's profile on a Stanford student database is now inactive.
