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Scamfluencers

ENCORE: Making Up The Grade: The College Admissions Scandal

3/30/202647 min

We’ll be back next week with new episodes. In the meantime, enjoy this episode about the college admissions scandal that swept up some of the richest families in Hollywood.

Rick Singer is a college admissions consultant whose elaborate, secretive network of college coaches and admissions officers can rig the system to get rich kids into top tier schools of their parents’ choosing… for a price. But when the feds start listening in, Rick will fail the ultimate test, and expose the dark side of the American education system.

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First 90 seconds

  1. Sarah Hagi· Host0:00

    Audible subscribers can listen to all our episodes of Scamfluencers ad free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode of Scamfluencers. But this week, we've been informed it's college acceptance season. We mostly experience that as viral videos of children opening emails. Then they either go ballistic with their parents or suffer a life damaging hit to their self-worth. Fun. We thought it was a perfect time to revisit the man behind Operation Varsity Blues, Rick Singer.

  2. Sachi Koul· Host0:32

    Ah, yes, the admissions consultant who masterminded a nationwide bribery scheme that funneled wealthy students into elite universities and landed celebrity parents like Felicity Huffman in federal court.

  3. Sarah Hagi· Host0:45

    And guess what, Saachi? He's back. Rick was released from federal prison in March 2025, and as of last summer, he's working in, wait for it, college admissions.

  4. Sachi Koul· Host0:57

    Well, that makes sense. I mean, he's very good at it. He, he has a lot to prove.

  5. Sarah Hagi· Host1:01

    Yes. And Rick is now the master coach and lead advisor at a company called ID Future Stars, which is owned by his sister. On their website, he says he, quote, "made a mistake" and took full responsibility.

  6. Sachi Koul· Host1:14

    Hmm.

  7. Sarah Hagi· Host1:15

    True. Kind of.

  8. Sachi Koul· Host1:16

    Sounds technically true. No follow-ups.

  9. Sarah Hagi· Host1:19

    Well, federal prosecutors had some concerns about Rick jumping back into the same industry, but his defense attorneys argued that the work is lawful and allowed under the terms of his supervised

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