The mother of a Chinese student who was admitted to Stanford University said the family gave $6.5 million to the man at the center of a massive college
admissions scandal as a donation for scholarships and funding.To get more
China news, you can visit shine news official website.
Fifty people have been charged in the largest college admissions scam prosecuted in the United States. The scandal has
ensnared celebrities such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, none of whom
allegedly spent as much as the Chinese woman.
In a statement through her attorney, the woman identified as Mrs. Zhao admits giving $6.5 million to the
foundation of William "Rick" Singer, the ring leader of the scam. Zhao said
she'd sought college advisory services from him because she was not familiar
with the admission process for colleges in the United States.
After her daughter got into Stanford, the statement said, Singer asked her for a donation
to the university through his foundation. Singer told her the donation was "for
the salaries of academic staff, scholarships, athletics programs and helping
those students who otherwise will not be able to afford to attend Stanford,"
Zhao said.
The statement from her attorney, Vincent Law, did not provide her first name or information about her husband or her daughter. But in a 2017 video
posted on the popular Chinese platform Douyu, a student who identified herself
as Yusi Zhao said she was admitted to Stanford through her own hard
work.
"This year I am admitted to Stanford. I'm really lucky I'd like to say," Zhao said in the 90-minute video. "I want to tell you all that I gained my
admission into Stanford through my own hard effort. ... I wasn't doing well
academically when I was in elementary school, but I can now go to Stanford after
working hard."
Yusi Zhao is the daughter of Chinese billionaire Zhao Tao, chairman of Shandong Buchang Pharmaceuticals, according to The Stanford
Daily.
Zhao Tao responded to the media reports in a statement released on his company's website saying, "My daughter's study in the US is personal and family
issue," and has no ties to Shandong Buchang Pharmaceuticals.While Singer's
company provided "educational advisory services," the mother said, it did not
guarantee admission into any school. Her daughter has a record of "good academic
performance and extracurricular achievements," and had offers from several US
colleges, she said. "Since the matters concerning Mr. Singer and his foundation
have been widely reported, Mrs. Zhao has come to realize she has been misled,
her generosity has been taken advantage of and her daughter has fallen victim to
the scam," the statement said.
Former Morgan Stanley adviser Michael Wu said he referred the parents to Singer.
"Mr. Wu was introduced to Rick Singer through Morgan Stanley as a trusted source. Singer, in an effort to line his own
pockets with millions of dollars from a Morgan Stanley client, stated in an
email, before any payment was made, that the money would be paid to Stanford
University 'to endow staff salaries and scholarships' and 'to fund athletics
special programs and the university's underserved outreach programs to help the
needy to afford to attend Stanford," Wu said in a statement through his
attorney.
A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley told CNN the company is cooperating with investigators, and said Wu had been terminated from his
job.
In a statement, Stanford said it did not get the millions of dollars and did not know about the matter before it was widely reported.
"It's important to clarify that Stanford did not receive $6.5 million from Singer, or from a
student's family working with Singer," it said. "Stanford was not aware of this
reported $6.5 million payment from the family to Singer."
