College scam mastermind pursuing doctorate at GCU

"William “Rick” Singer, the admitted mastermind behind a notorious college admissions bribery scheme, decided to pursue his own academic degree as he awaits sentencing on multiple federal charges, court records show."

"Singer, who completed five classes in his psychology program at Grand Canyon University, had sought permission to travel to the Phoenix-based school to attend a required residency meeting, court documents show."

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ny-college-scam-mastermind-was-enrolled-in-doctorate-program-20200728-xnz6lnqgmvcshgmvyislcunndq-story.html

 

This is a bit weird. Apparently, for reasons unknown, he dropped out of the program, AFTER permission was granted. Maybe GCU didn't want the publicity despite his good academic progress. It says he pled guilty to:

racketeering conspiracy,
money laundering conspiracy,
obstruction of justice and
conspiracy to defraud the United States

I think, with that freshly stamped on my ticket, I'd have trouble getting admitted to, or staying in school. If I were already serving a sentence, prospects of education would be better. There are incarcerated-friendly programs out there.

But if anyone would know how to bypass admission criteria, it would likely be Mr. Singer. Nobody can say he wasn't good at what he did. But I think maybe he'll wait until after sentencing - and find a program that admits and helps incarcerated students.

 

Yes - that would be the smart thing to do - and I think Mr. Singer is very smart. Look how long it took the law to catch up with him - almost a decade.