Key Foundation/IMG Academy Mark Riddell, right, is accused of working with WIlliam "Rick" Singer, left, in a large-scale fraud to help get the children of wealthy parents into elite colleges through fraud and bribes.
A 36-year-old former college tennis player turned prep school college advisor is accused of taking SAT and ACT exams for the children of wealthy parents as part of a multi-million-dollar fraud and bribery scheme aimed at getting rich kids into elite universities, federal prosecutors say. Mark Riddell was charged March 12 with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Riddell, an employee of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, worked with William “Rick” Singer, a 58-year-old Newport Beach, California, man and the owner of Edge College & Career Network LLC, a for-profit college counseling and preparation business, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Tuesday in a press release.
“Between approximately 2011 and February 2019, Singer allegedly conspired with dozens of parents, athletic coaches, a university athletics administrator, and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of students to colleges and universities including Yale University, Georgetown University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, and Wake Forest University, among others,” prosecutors said. “Also charged for their involvement in the scheme are 33 parents and 13 coaches and associates of Singer’s businesses, including two SAT and ACT test administrators.”
Prosecutors added, “The conspiracy involved 1) bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to allow a test taker, typically Riddell, to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students or to correct the students’ answers after they had taken the exam; 2) bribing university athletic coaches and administrators—including coaches at Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, and the University of Texas—to facilitate the admission of students to elite universities under the guise of being recruited as athletes; and (3) using the façade of Singer’s charitable organization to conceal the nature and source of the bribes.”
Several coaches at top universities are facing charges. Also facing charges are several prominent parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin, “Full House” fame, and Felicity Huffman, best known for “Desperate Housewives.” You can read about the case, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues” and those who were arrested here.
Here’s what you need to know about Mark Riddell:
1. Riddell Is ‘Just a Really Smart Guy’ Who Could ‘Get a Near Perfect Score on Demand’ When Taking the ACT or SAT for Students, the U.S. Attorney Says
Mark Riddell is accused of taking payments, including as much as $10,000, from Rick Singer to take SAT and ACT tests for the children of wealthy individuals. The scheme started in 2011, according to federal prosecutors. Here is how things worked, according to prosecutors:
According to the charging documents, Singer facilitated cheating on the SAT and ACT exams for his clients by instructing them to seek extended time for their children on college entrance exams, which included having the children purport to have learning disabilities in order to obtain the required medical documentation. Once the extended time was granted, Singer allegedly instructed the clients to change the location of the exams to one of two test centers: a public high school in Houston, Texas, or a private college preparatory school in West Hollywood, Calif.
At those test centers, Singer had established relationships with test administrators Niki Williams and Igor Dvorskiy, respectively, who accepted bribes of as much as $10,000 per test in order to facilitate the cheating scheme. Specifically, Williams and Dvorskiy allowed a third individual, typically Riddell, to take the exams in place of the students, to give the students the correct answers during the exams, or to correct the students’ answers after they completed the exams. Singer typically paid Ridell $10,000 for each student’s test. Singer’s clients paid him between $15,000 and $75,000 per test, with the payments structured as purported donations to the KWF charity. In many instances, the students taking the exams were unaware that their parents had arranged for the cheating.
At a press conference on March 12, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling told reporters that Riddell is “just a really smart guy.” He said Riddell, “didn’t have inside information about the answers, he was just smart enough to get a near perfect score on demand or to calibrate the score.”
Lelling added, “Singer would discuss with their clients what kind of score they were looking for. If your daughter took the SAT on her own the first time and got a particular score, retaking the exam, if her score goes up too much, that would invite scrutiny. So Singer would discuss with parents what kind of score was impressive, but not too impressive, and then would instruct Riddell to attempt to get that score. And he was just good enough to do it.”
You can read the charging document filed against Riddell below:
Prosecutors did not say in court documents how often Riddell took tests for students. In some cases, Riddell would “secretly correct” a student’s answers after he or she took the test, prosecutors said. In one case, a parent, “provided Singer with an exemplar of Parent 1’s son’s handwriting so that Riddell could imitate it when taking the exam in his place.”
Riddell flew from his home in Florida to Houston, Texas, where prosecutors said Singer had paid off a test administrator with another bribe. He could not take the test with the students who were taking it at the test center, so the test administrator, Niki Williams, gave him a copy and he took it in his hotel room, prosecutors said in court documents. The parent of the student who prosecutors say paid for him to take the test, Jane Buckingham, had arranged for her son to be declared to have a learning disability, which was the reasoning he was allowed to take the test away from the other students, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Riddell, “predicted that he would score a 35 out of 36 on the ACT exam,” and he delivered a 35;.
2. He Was the Director of College Entrance Exam Preparation at IMG Academy, but the School Has Removed His Bio Page From Its Website & Suspended Him
Mark Riddell.
Mark Riddell was listed on the IMG Academy website as director of college entrance exam preparation. His employee biography page on the IMG Academy website was deleted on March 12 after Riddell’s arrest. IMG, based in Bradenton, Florida, is a prep boarding school and sports training center that attracts top athletes from Florida and around the country.
“Today we were made aware of the charges against Mark Riddell. Riddell has been suspended indefinitely as we investigate this matter,” IMG Academy said in a statement. The school is not named in any court documents and there are no allegations of wrongdoing involving any IMG Academy staff members, other than Riddell, or students.
A cached version of the IMG Academy page says, “Mark Riddell is the Director of College Entrance Exam Preparation (SAT & ACT) at IMG Academy where he began working in 2006. Mark is the coordinator and leader of the college entrance exam preparation, but also recruits tutors to fill the growing need for additional one-one-one tutoring, which allows IMG students to have private learning opportunities and customize their educational experience. … His knowledge of test preparation, tutoring prowess, athletic background, and experience as a former IMG Academy student make him an important mentor for IMG Academy students.”
The website says Riddell, “assists thousands of students in gaining admission to top American universities such as Stanford, Duke, Columbia, Dartmouth, University of Chicago, and many other notable institutions,” and adds he, “created the curriculum for the test preparation program at IMG Academy.”
3. Riddell Is a Florida Native Who Played Tennis at Harvard Before Embarking on a Failed Professional Tennis Career
Mark Riddell.
Riddell is a Sarasota, Florida, native and attended Sarasota High School, where he was a star tennis player. He also trained at IMG Academy. According to the IMG website, ” Prior to devoting himself to test preparation, Mark was a ranked ATP tour tennis professional and a decorated division I NCAA tennis player.”
Riddell played Division 1 tennis at Harvard University, graduating in 2004. While at Harvard, he played in the All American Championships and was part of a team that was ranked No. 17 in the country, according to the IMG website. According to College Tennis Online, Riddell compiled a 78-43 singles record and 92-46 doubles record while at Harvard.
The IMG website says Riddell was ranked on the ATP tour, but the ATP website does not have any records of Riddell’s career.
4. He Began Cooperating With the Federal Investigation in February 2019 & Agreed to Plead Guilty to the Charges, According to Court Documents
GettyActresses Felicity Huffman, left, and Lori Loughlin, pictured with her daughters, were among 40 people charged in a federal college admissions cheating and bribery scheme.
Mark Riddell began cooperating with federal investigators in February 2019 and intends to plead guilty to the two charges filed against him, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to federal court documents. It is not clear exactly how Riddell cooperated with the investigation. You can read the details of the charges against the 33 parents below. In the document, Riddell is mentioned as cooperating witness 2, or CW-2:
Riddell could not be reached for comment by Heavy and has not issued a statement about his arrest. It is not clear if he has hired an attorney to speak on behalf.
5. Riddell, Who Is Scheduled to Appear in Federal Court on Wednesday, Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison
Mark Riddell is not in custody and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday for the first time, according to prosecutors. Riddell will likely enter a guilty plea to the charges against him at that time and will then be released until he is sentenced. Rick Singer has also pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, according to prosecutors.
Riddell could face up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge, but with his cooperation and criminal history, he is unlikely to receive anywhere near the maximum sentence. Details of the plea agreement he is expected to agree to have not been made public.
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