Ex-TPG executive, others in U.S. college admissions scandal to appear in court

BOSTON (Reuters) – A former senior executive at private equity firm TPG Capital is among 15 people set to appear in court on Friday after being charged with participating in what prosecutors say was the largest college admissions scam uncovered in U.S. history.

Former TPG senior executive Bill McGlashan is one of the wealthy parents slated to make their initial appearances in federal court in Boston after being accused of engaging in fraud and bribery schemes to help get their children into colleges.

Fifty people, including the actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, have been charged with participating in the scheme, headed by college admissions counseling service operator Rick Singer.

Prosecutors said the California consultant helped parents use bribes and cheating to illegally secure admission for their children to universities including Yale University, the University of Southern California and Georgetown University.

Some $25 million in bribes were paid to coaches who helped Singer’s clients secure spots for their children as fake athletic prospects, prosecutors said.

Singer also facilitated cheating on college entrance exams, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty on March 12 to charges including racketeering conspiracy and is cooperating with investigators.

McGlashan was accused of arranging with Singer to pay to have an associate correct his son’s answers on an ACT college entrance exam at a test center that Singer “controlled,” according to a criminal complaint.

McGlashan also conspired to bribe a senior associate athletic director at the University of Southern California in order to help get his son admitted to the school as a recruited athlete, the complaint said.

In a court filing on Wednesday, lawyers for McGlashan denied the allegations, saying he “did not pay for the use of a so-called ‘side door’ to obtain admission for his son at USC or any other college for that matter.”