William Rick Singer, the mastermind of a nationwide college admissions fraud scheme, will be sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Boston.
His sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
The singer, 62, pleaded guilty in March 2019 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy in connection with the scam dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. He assisted in government investigations and wired for the FBI.
The operation involved taking bribes, cheating on entrance exams, and tricking unqualified applicants into schools as elite recruiting athletes.
Prosecutors had asked for the singer to serve six years, while defense lawyers had asked for three years or a maximum of six months in prison.
If he is sentenced to six years in prison, it would be the longest sentence so far in the case, after former Georgetown University tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for taking more than $3 million in bribes.
Although prosecutors never call him as a witness in cases that go to trial, he will have a chance to address the court before the judge hands down his sentence.
So far, more than 50 people, including parents and coaches, have been convicted in this case. The fraud scheme ensnared Hollywood, with actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Hoffman being sued.
The singer allegedly earned more than $25 million from his clients, paid more than $7 million in total bribes, and used more than $15 million of his client’s money for his own benefit, prosecutors said.
In a letter filed with his sentencing memorandum on Dec. 29, the singer said he now lives in a trailer park and can’t get a job despite more than 1,000 attempts because of his role in Operation Varsity Blues.
“For most of my life, if not all of it, I have thrived on winning at all costs,” he wrote. “My moral compass was broken and, over time, choosing right from wrong became less important than doing whatever it took to be recognized as ‘the best’.”
By being caught, he is “provided an opportunity for insight, atonement, and redemption,” he wrote.