Prosecutors are looking to recover nearly $450,000 from a Harvard University alumnus who allegedly took the SAT and ACT exams for students in a massive college admissions scandal.
Mark Riddell, 36, was reportedly paid $10,000 for each test he took for college applicants, according to NBC News Wednesday. It is unclear how many tests he took, however.
The Palmetto, Florida, resident worked closely with William Rick Singer to “secretly take the exams in place of actual students, or to replace the students’ exam responses with his own,” according to a criminal complaint.
“I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process,” Riddell said, NBC reported.
Singer helped parents get their children into elite schools by cheating the college entrance exam system. He ran the charity Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF) in California, which was used to facilitate the bribes.
Picture of a diploma and graduation cap. Vloveland/Pixabay
Riddell was the director of college exam preparation at the Florida prep school IMG Academy, according to NBC.
He was indefinitely suspended from the school, WFLA reported.
“I will always regret the choices I made, but I also believe that the more than 1,000 students I legitimately counseled, inspired, and helped reach their goals in my career will paint a more complete picture of the person I truly am,” Riddell said, according to NBC.
Riddell is facing conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering criminal counts, the complaint said.
The bribery scam allegedly involved 50 people, including “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and “Desperate Housewives” actress Felicity Huffman.
Riddell played tennis for Harvard and graduated from the school in 2004.
Harvard’s admissions process was recently brought to the spotlight over race-based admissions in October 2018. The trial revealed that applicants related to donors or those put on special lists had an acceptance rate of 42.2 percent as opposed to regular admits at 4.59 percent between the class of 2014 and class of 2019.
Harvard did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
