A former Harvard fencing coach and a Maryland businessman have been arrested and charged with conspiring to circumvent Harvard University’s freshman admissions process, the federal prosecutor’s office in Boston says.
Former Harvard fencing coach Peter Brand, 67, was relieved of his duties earlier this year. He is accused of taking more than $1.5 million in bribes from Jie “Jack” Zhao, a 61-year-old Maryland businessman, to recruit his two sons to the Harvard fencing team, which he used to get them into Harvard University.
Jack Zhao, who runs a telecommunications company, allegedly donated more than $1 million to a fencing charity run by Brand in 2013. That same year, one of Zhao Jie’s sons was accepted to Harvard.
His second son was admitted to Harvard in 2017.
A press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said, “At the same time that Brand recruited Zhao’s youngest son to the Harvard fencing team, Zhao spent a total of $1.5 million to pay Brand or for Brand’s personal benefit.”
The release stated, “Zhao allegedly paid for Brand’s car, paid for Brand’s son’s college tuition, paid the mortgage on Brand’s home in Needham, Massachusetts, and later purchased the home for well above market value, enabling Brand to purchase a more expensive home in Cambridge that Zhao subsequently paid to renovate. “
Federal prosecutor Andrew E. Lelling said, “This case is part of our long-running effort to expose and deter corruption in college admissions. Every year, millions of young people struggle to gain admission to college. We will do what we can to make the competition as fair as possible.”
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in March 2019 the indictment of 50 people who participated in a scheme to bribe their way into elite colleges for the children of wealthy families. This was known as Operation Varsity Blues (OVBS). Llewellyn said at the time that it was a multifaceted scam that lasted for years.
The families involved in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal came from inside and outside the United States.
Prosecutors said they did not believe the universities were directly involved in or knew about the bribery scams.
According to Llewellyn’s office, the latest case dates back to at least 2012, when Bland allegedly spoke with Jie Zhao about his son.
Bland and Jie Zhao are expected to appear in federal court Monday, according to the Justice Department. Bland made his first court appearance in Boston, and Zhao Jie crossed the bench in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The two men face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery in a federal project.
Recent Comments