RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Logo text It may be 93 degrees in the shade right now, but there's a cool back-to-school breeze right around the corner. And if your offspring happen to be approaching college age, Rambling has some happy news: Rick Singer is once again available to help.
Singer, of course, was the educational entrepreneur behind the 2019 Varsity Blues college admissions scandal who bribed coaches, rigged test scores and falsified academic credentials while charging a slew of high-profile Hollywood parents — like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman — hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since he was released from prison last year — after serving just 16 months of a 42-month sentence — he's been on something of a comeback, rebuilding what appears to be the same sort of college coaching venture that got him into trouble in the first place. Related Stories TV Lori Loughlin Returns for 'When Calls the Heart' Season 14 Lifestyle Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli Split After Nearly 28 Years of Marriage
It's called ID Future Stars, and its website boasts an "80-96 percent acceptance rate" at students' first-choice schools and identifies Singer as its "Master Coach & Lead Advisor." In fairness, Singer, now 66, does fully cop to his crimes on his bio page, even if he doesn't exactly apologize for them. "I made a mistake, took full responsibility and want to share my expertise, passion and desire," he offers, promising to continue to "utilize" his "deep relationships" with the "respected decision-makers" to "find a college and career that is the right choice for each individual."
The irony here is that Singer is returning to his profession while so many ensnared in his application shenanigans never fully got back to theirs. Like, for instance, Loughlin, who paid Singer $500,000 to concoct fake row team credentials — and even stage phony rowing photos — to get her two daughters into USC. Not only did the scandal bust up Loughlin's 28-year marriage to fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli, she lost her Hallmark acting gig and her role on Fuller House , then ended up serving two months in a minimum-security prison camp. Her husband did five.
About the only one in the family who came out ahead was daughter Olivia Jade, who made it clear in her viral YouTube videos before her parents were carted off that she didn't care much about college anyway ("I do want the experience of, like game days …"). She became an influencer with more than a million Insta followers, launched her own beauty brand and, for a while, dated Jacob Elordi.
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This story appeared in the Aug. 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .
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