The FBI and federal prosecutors are charging nearly 50 people in the largest college cheating scandal ever. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said yesterday at least 33 parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, super-rich CEOs and two SAT or ACT exam administrators, and nine coaches at elite schools, are among those facing charges in what's dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues." NBC legal expert Ari Melber says it doesn't look like the feds are focusing on the teenagers in this case.
The current and former coaches involved are from Yale, Georgetown, USC, Wake Forest and Texas. Loughlin and her husband allegedly paid $500K in bribes. Lelling said all of the parents knew their kids were cheating on the ACT and/or SAT entrance tests or creating bogus sports profiles to get to the college through a sports team. He said this was a case of rich and privileged people cheating the system at the expense of parents and kids playing by the rules. California businessman William Singer was the alleged ringleader of the operation. Feds say he collected $25 million in bribes.