Chief Launderer in College Admissions Scam Plans to Cooperate
- Steven Masera allegedly aided in laundering up to $25 million
- Latest guilty plea comes as 19 parents fight it out in court
Steven Masera.
Photographer: Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesThe chief financial officer of the firm behind the U.S. college admissions scandal has agreed to plead guilty to racketeering charges and cooperate with federal prosecutors in their investigation, according to documents filed in court Friday.
Steven Masera, 69, helped William “Rick” Singer, founder of the Newport Beach, California, college-counseling firm and the admitted mastermind of the scam, launder fees that clients paid to fix their children’s college-entrance exams and bribes for university sports coaches to designate the kids as recruited athletes, according to prosecutors. The cash was funneled through a sham charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation.