The Colburns also said the government has failed to allege enough facts to prove a fraud conspiracy, because test scores aren’t a form of “property” covered by the statute and because there’s no claim that the proctor, an independent contractor allegedly bribed by Singer, owed a fiduciary duty to the exam companies.
And, they added, if the court agrees there is no “actionable fraud,” the money-laundering conspiracy count should be dismissed as well.
The Colburns “did not participate in the sprawling conspiracy alleged by the government, or any other conspiracy,” their lawyer, Patric Hooper, of Hooper Lundy & Bookman PC, said in a statement. “They are putting their trust in the judicial system to clear their names.”
The U.S. says 33 parents paid millions of dollars in bribes and fees through Singer. He provided for a test-taking surrogate, Mark Riddell, to ace the SAT or ACT for their children, or facilitated bribes to university coaches to get the kids in as sports recruits, funneling the money through a charity he ran -- or both, prosecutors said.
Singer and Riddell have pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government as part of plea deals. Singer later secretly recorded calls with parents, some of which appear to show them discussing the alleged score-boosting or bribery scheme.
“I expect a lot more guilty pleas,” said Diane Ferrone, a criminal defense lawyer in New York who isn’t involved in the case.
Zangrillo’s Daughter
In addition to the indicted parents, almost all of whom have entered not-guilty pleas, 13 others -- among them Gordon Caplan, the former co-chairman of law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, and the actor Felicity Huffman -- have said they will plead guilty, likely hoping for leniency at sentencing.
One parent who is fighting the charges is Robert Zangrillo, who is accused of paying $250,000 to get his daughter admitted as an athletic recruit at the University of Southern California. His lawyer, Martin Weinberg, has said the allegations about bribing coaches don’t amount to a money-laundering conspiracy case.
The parents’ payments “are not unlawful proceeds of criminal activity,” added Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at George Washington University’s law school. “The money doesn’t become ‘proceeds’ of a criminal activity, which is required for money laundering, until it is in the hands of the bribe recipients.”
Even if parents fail to win a dismissal on legal grounds, they will push for individual trials so they’re not all lumped together before jurors as part of a far-reaching conspiracy, legal experts said. If there are multiple trials, it may be difficult for Singer to keep his story straight under the pressure of repeated attacks.