Rick Singer, Mastermind of Varsity Blues Scandal, Is Sentenced to 3½ Years in Prison

The case was not a part of the Varsity Blues investigation, however it was tried by a few of the identical prosecutors and had strikingly comparable particulars. It was prompted by a Boston Globe investigation in 2019 that discovered that Mr. Zhao, chief govt of telecommunications firm iTalk International Communications, had purchased Mr. Model’s home at an inflated worth. After the Globe report, Harvard fired the coach.

Mr. Weinreb, Mr. Zhao’s lawyer, mentioned in an interview that Mr. Zhao’s sons have been extremely certified for admission — each academically and as fencers. And he mentioned that Mr. Zhao was merely a beneficiant man and a smooth contact.

In his closing argument, Mr. Weinreb leaned in on the fund-raising.

“The household not solely paid full tuition for the 2 boys all eight years, in addition they donated greater than $300,000 to the college — and that features $250,000 that they used to start out a belief that will probably be value $1 million to Harvard when it matures,” he instructed the jury.

As quickly because the Zhaos made the primary $250,000 donation, Mr. Weinreb mentioned, “Harvard stored coming again and again for extra, as a result of the Zhaos are precisely the sort of household that Harvard desires within the fold.”

Within the Zhaos, he mentioned, Harvard received “nice children, nice college students, nice fencers and a terrific household that has generously supported the faculty in its fencing program. The place is the crime in that?”

Rachael Dane, a spokeswoman for Harvard, mentioned that the college was not implicated in Varsity Blues, nor a celebration to the fencing case, and would haven’t any remark. Mr. Weinreb, she added, “shouldn’t be employed by Harvard College and has no data of our admissions course of or preferences.”

Kevin G. Andrade contributed reporting. Alain Delaquérière contributed analysis.