Mastermind of 'Varsity Blues' college admission scandal Rick Singer breaks silence in first interview

EXCLUSIVE — "Everything that the FBI and U.S. lawyer and everybody other successful the satellite says I did? I did it," 64-year-old Rick Singer told Fox News successful his first-ever interrogation astir his sensational "Varsity Blues" assemblage admissions scandal.

Not agelong ago, Singer was 1 of the astir talked astir and arguable men successful the country. Today, he’s softly surviving astatine a halfway location successful Los Angeles, wherever helium expects to decorativeness retired the remainder of his 42-month condemnation aft pleading blameworthy successful 2019 to racketeering, wealth laundering and obstruction charges.

Singer says he’s capable to permission the halfway location astir days for a occupation with a edifice group.

"I’m the feline that’s hiding successful plain sight. Nobody adjacent knows who I am," Singer told Fox successful an exclusive sit-down interrogation successful Los Angeles. "Now, idiosyncratic whitethorn admit me, and I tin perceive radical talking. But cipher cares." 

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Monitors amusement Fox News' Matt Finn conducting the first-ever interrogation with Rick Singer, who pleaded blameworthy successful 2019 to racketeering, wealth laundering and obstruction charges successful the "Varsity Blues" assemblage admissions scandal. (Fox News)

Singer’s charity, the Key Worldwide Foundation, billed arsenic a mode to assistance disadvantaged kids, took successful astatine slightest $25 cardinal successful what Singer calls "donations" from celebrities similar actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, with the anticipation Singer would enactment his magic to get their kids into elite colleges.

Huffman pleaded blameworthy for her relation successful the crimes and served eleven days of a two-week condemnation successful a California national prison. Loughlin pleaded blameworthy and besides served 2 months successful a national lockup successful California.

Federal prosecutors accidental the donations were bribes and conducted an extended undercover probe dubbed "Varsity Blues" to bust Singer and his accomplices.

According to probe conducted by Fox News, astatine slightest 50 radical had pleaded blameworthy oregon been convicted successful the assemblage admittance ungraded arsenic of October 2023.

"I privation to apologize profusely to each of the families that I’ve hurt, each the kids that I hurt. The administrators that I hurt. My ain family," Singer said successful an exclusive sit-down interrogation successful Los Angeles.

Singer’s elaborate strategy centered astir creating falsified and embellished assemblage pupil applications implicit with fake trial scores, diversion acquisition and doctored photos. Singer recruited a web of assemblage coaches and administrators to assistance him cleanable the fake applications, and they accepted Singer’s wealth successful what helium refers to arsenic "side-door" deals.

When the quality archetypal broke of Singer’s scheme, the state erupted. Parents and critics alleged Singer robbed a countless fig of students of their hard-earned, warranted spots successful immoderate of America’s champion colleges and universities, similar Georgetown, the University of Southern California and Yale University.

Matt Finn conducts the first-ever interrogation with Rick Singer, who pleaded blameworthy successful 2019 to racketeering, wealth laundering and obstruction charges successful the "Varsity Blues" assemblage admissions scandal. (Fox News)

Singer’s scandal became a monstrous media sensation, sparking months of quality coverage, books, TV specials and a Netflix documentary that featured authentic recorded conversations betwixt Singer and his clients.

Despite the blowback and outrage, Singer, present a convicted felon, insists helium ne'er took a spot from a deserving student. Instead, helium claims, his strategy exposed a fund maneuver that higher acquisition institutions trust connected — blocking disconnected definite "spots" connected sports teams and wrong departments from mundane applicants and mounting them speech for large donors consenting to wage for a student’s entry.

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"In 90% of the cases, the coaches each twelvemonth are calling maine saying, 'I got a spot open. I request to rise this magnitude of money. … Find maine a family,’" Singer said.

When asked specifically however helium did the astir harm, helium said it was ruining people’s names. 

"The biggest happening is estimation … that they worked truthful hard to make and physique and beryllium large people," Singer said.

Singer acknowledges his crimes, admitting helium considers the trial cheating the astir brazen part. But helium says the assemblage admissions offices person not faced the aforesaid aggravated scrutiny.

"The media missed that the colleges, they’re my spouse successful this. It takes 2 parties to play," Singer said. 

Fox News reached retired to the 3 schools Singer alleges helium partnered with the astir — the University of Southern California, Georgetown and Yale. So far, Yale responded and has declined to comment.

Matt Finn interviews Rick Singer, who pleaded blameworthy successful 2019 to racketeering, wealth laundering and obstruction charges successful the "Varsity Blues" assemblage admissions scandal. (Fox News)

Singer, front, laminitis of the Edge College & Career Network, exits national tribunal successful Boston March 12, 2019, aft helium pleaded blameworthy to charges successful a nationwide assemblage admissions bribery scandal.  (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Singer told Fox helium believes helium seized connected 1 of the 3 ways a pupil tin get into college. 

They tin get successful done the "front door" with morganatic merit and grades, done the "backdoor" erstwhile a household publically donates monolithic amounts of wealth to a assemblage oregon field oregon done a "side door."  

Singer says helium mastered the side-door method by crafting fraudulent pupil applications and paying disconnected radical connected the wrong astatine a university. 

"This has been going connected for hundreds of years. I americium not that astute to marque up this process," Singer said.

The erstwhile hoops manager says helium thinks his side-door deals were targeted due to the fact that they were done successful private, yet helium questions wherefore the large backdoor donations often fixed successful nationalist with the anticipation of favors are viewed arsenic acceptable.

Singer told Fox his strategy began successful portion with a pupil from Vancouver. Singer describes the pupil arsenic intelligent but a mediocre trial taker. So, Singer enlisted the assistance of Mark Riddell, which Singer says helium present feels severely about, by convincing him with $10,000 to fake the Vancouver student’s last trial score. Ridell went connected to to go a cardinal subordinate successful Singer’s strategy and was besides convicted.

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"What I tin perfectly archer you, what I did bash that was illegal, was cheating connected tests," Singer said.

Singer did not uncover wholly however the archetypal trial was cheated, but helium said it progressive a fake ID and described that archetypal tally arsenic a satisfying, cinematic-like heist that paved the mode for the aboriginal of his misdeeds.

Singer, who considers himself a lifelong "coach," says speech from his side-door deals, helium was besides ever moving a morganatic assemblage coaching concern helium claims has helped hundreds of students get into college. Singer says concern moguls and Hollywood A-listers person utilized his morganatic assemblage counseling for their children.

Prior to his clip successful the halfway house, Singer says helium spent 16 months astatine a national situation campy successful Pensacola. Singer says he’s made friends portion being incarcerated, galore of whom helium says were locked up for fraudulent COVID-era PPE crimes. Singer claims he’s hardly ever eaten a prison-issued meal. Instead, helium tries to find steadfast market items to make his ain meals.

Singer says helium present wants to revolutionize college admissions and acquisition with his caller institution called Future ID Stars, which helium says volition destruct the request for assemblage for precocious schoolhouse students crossed the U.S. by identifying their IQ, skills and competitory borderline and past placing them straight successful the workforce.

Monitors amusement Fox News' Matt Finn conducting the first-ever interrogation with Rick Singer, who pleaded blameworthy successful 2019 to racketeering, wealth laundering and obstruction charges successful the "Varsity Blues" assemblage admissions scandal. (Fox News)

"We person a conception that everybody needs to spell to college, and it’s the close spot to beryllium for everybody. And ‘you person to spell to definite schools to beryllium successful.' And that’s not the information based connected tens of thousands of kids I’ve worked with," Singer said.

Singer besides says helium thinks experienced mothers who privation to instrumentality to the workforce are a hidden root of reliable employees who person not been tapped into.

Singer insists everything helium does moving guardant volition beryllium done legally and with the reappraisal of attorneys, thing helium admits helium wishes helium had done each along. Singer claims he’s built specified a revered sanction successful the admissions satellite that parents are inactive reaching retired to him for coaching and were doing truthful adjacent during his trial.

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"I locomotion retired of the tribunal — retired of the tribunal — and I amusement my lawyer my phone. There’s 93 texts: "Are you inactive coming implicit adjacent week?"    

Singer admits the timepiece whitethorn ne'er tally retired connected unlawful assemblage admissions successful the United States.

Asked if helium thinks the assemblage admissions strategy tin inactive beryllium gamed and if it's inactive being gamed today, Singer replied, "Every day."