too bad the article is behind a paywall
Here you go. I highlighted the part about club soccer at the end
:
Families from China were among those who allegedly paid the most in
the college admissions scandal, a new sign of the reach of the cheating ring.
One Chinese family allegedly paid $6.5 million to William “Rick” Singer, the California-based college counselor who has admitted to masterminding the scheme, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Another was the family of a student—referred to in court filings as “Yale Applicant 1”—who paid $1.2 million to secure her admission to Yale University. The student is 21-year-old Sherry Guo, who moved to Southern California from China to attend high school, her lawyer confirmed.
The families have been of particular interest in the case because they allegedly paid far more than nearly all of the 33 parents currently facing criminal charges in the scheme. Many parents paid $250,000 to $400,000 for the illegal admissions services, including securing fraudulent test scores and bribing coaches to have their children designated as recruited athletes, prosecutors say.
Ms. Guo had her eye on Columbia University or Oxford University, said her lawyer, James Spertus of Spertus, Landes & Umhofer LLP in Los Angeles.
But Mr. Singer told her she would go to Yale University. It was a sure thing, he said, according to Mr. Spertus. An attorney for Mr. Singer, who has pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including racketeering conspiracy, declined to comment.
Ms. Guo learned English after arriving in California about five years ago, Mr. Spertus said. She attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., south of Los Angeles, starting high school as an older student.
Ms. Guo was “so unfamiliar with how people apply to schools in the U.S.,” Mr. Spertus said. “Rick Singer’s instructions to her didn’t seem as out of place as they would to a student who grew up in the United States and has more of an expectation of free choice.”
The young woman did get into Yale, after Mr. Singer allegedly got her tagged as a recruited athlete, and started school there last fall, according to Mr. Spertus and court filings. She’s no longer at the school, her attorney confirmed.
A growing number of Chinese families are bringing their children to the U.S. for high school, or even elementary school,
in the hopes of helping smooth the path to college admission down the line. Colleges sometimes scrutinize foreign agents who
help coordinate applications from overseas students, but less so the role of U.S.-based independent college counselors—particularly those whose main client base is domestic.
Mr. Spertus said he was authorized to answer questions on Ms. Guo’s behalf and declined to make her available.
The Wall Street Journal hasn’t learned the identity of the family that allegedly paid $6.5 million.
Ms. Guo’s family was introduced to Mr. Singer by a Los Angeles financial adviser, Mr. Spertus said.
Ms. Guo’s family hasn’t been charged. Prosecutors have said the investigation is ongoing. The family that allegedly paid $6.5 million for Mr. Singer’s services also hasn’t been charged, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“I just don’t think the question of guilt is clear-cut in Sherry’s case, at all,” Mr. Spertus said.
According to court filings, a Los Angeles-based employee of a financial adviser allegedly told Mr. Singer in November 2017 that the father of Yale Applicant 1 wanted to make a “donation” to “one of those top schools” for his daughter’s “application.”
The next day, Mr. Singer sent Rudolph “Rudy” Meredith, then the Yale women’s soccer coach, the student’s résumé and personal statement, which included links to her art portfolio, according to filings by prosecutors.
Mr. Singer wrote that he would “revise” the art materials to soccer, according to a filing, which said that he falsely listed her as a member of a junior national development team in China and co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California.
Mr. Singer paid $400,000 to Mr. Meredith in exchange for having him designate the girl as a recruited athlete, nearly guaranteeing her a spot at the school, according to court filings. Mr. Meredith pleaded guilty last month for his role in the scheme, which prosecutors say started in 2015 and included taking bribes for multiple students.
Yale said it rescinded the admission of a student last month after investigating allegations that its former women’s head soccer coach was involved in Mr. Singer’s scheme. The school said it did so “as a result of this matter,” referring to the admissions scandal, and didn’t identify the individual.
Ms. Guo was listed in the Yale directory as recently as April 10, but no longer appears there.
Ms. Guo won awards for her artwork, according to news stories posted on the JSerra Catholic High School website. She was also listed as an international student officer for the school’s National Honor Society chapter.
Eric Stroupe, the school’s principal, said she is an “unbelievable artist” and “super talented,” and had very strong grades. He said he didn’t know of Ms. Guo’s alleged connection to the admissions scandal until he was contacted by the Journal, and he was shocked.
