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Mark Riddell, the 36-year-old who allegedly took exams for 'cheating' students apologizes
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Mar 19, 2019, 10:52:37 PM3/19/19
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https://abcnews.go.com/US/mark-riddell-man-allegedly-exams-cheating-
students-smart/story?id=61641180
The man accused of taking college entrance exams for high school students
as part of a cheating ring has issued an apology, but hopes that his non-
criminal work will help show “the person I truly am.”
Mark Riddell released a statement through his attorneys on Wednesday, the
day after it was announced that he is facing two criminal charges of
conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and
conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection to his alleged
involvement in the scheme.
"I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the
damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my
needless actions. I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of
trust in the college admissions process," he said in the statement
released by Stechschulte Nell, Attorneys at Law.
"I assume full responsibility for what I have done. I do, however, want to
clarify an assertion that has arisen in the media coverage. I absolutely,
unequivocally never bribed anyone, nor has the Information filed by the
U.S. Attorney's Office charged me with any form of bribery," the statement
reads.
The 36-year-old is expected to face a judge in Massachusetts on April 12.
"I will always regret the choices I made, but I also believe that the more
than one thousand students I legitimately counseled, inspired, and helped
reach their goals in my career will paint a more complete picture of the
person I truly am,” the statement concluded.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling detailed the process of the
alleged scheme at a news conference Tuesday morning and described Riddell
as "just a really smart guy."
PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling
announces indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal,
during a news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Boston.Steven
Senne/AP
U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces
indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal, during a
news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Boston.more +
"He 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,"
the leading federal prosecutor said of Riddell.
Instead, William "Rick" Singer — who pleaded guilty to racketeering
conspiracy and other charges for orchestrating the cheating ring — would
arrange for Riddell to get a copy of the test from a bribed test
administrator and then take it on behalf of the student.
"Singer would discuss with their clients what kind of score they were
looking for. If your daughter took the S.A.T. 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," Lelling said.
The multi-paged criminal complaint reads that Riddell conspired with
Singer from 2011 to 2019.
PHOTO: William Rick Singer leaves the federal courthouse after facing
charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme in Boston,
March 12, 2019.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Although the court documents do not state the amount of times that Riddell
was involved in either completing or correcting individuals' tests, it
detailed a June 2018 incident, where the original plan was to have Riddell
"secretly correct" one student's answers, after the student took the test
himself.
In a turn of events, the complaint read, the teenager was sick when it
came time to travel to the Houston test site so Riddell took the test for
him.
However, in at least this one instances when Riddell took the exam in
place of high school students, the criminal complaint charges that he did
not sit for the exam with other high schoolers — which may have sparked
suspicions because based on his college graduation year, he is likely in
his mid to late thirties.
To fulfill the plan, according to the criminal complaint, the 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 — who is based in Palmetto, Florida, which is south of Tampa —
would receive a copy of the ACT from a bribed test administrator and take
the exam in his hotel room after flying to one of the two alleged test
centers involved in the scandal.
The criminal complaint further charges that Riddell reported back to
Singer that he "predicted that he would score a 35 out of 36 on the ACT
exam."
PHOTO: The University of Southern California campus, 2014.Jeffrey
Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images, FILE
The University of Southern California campus, 2014.
Riddell was paid $10,000 for his part in that scheme and, he was right: he
got a 35 on the exam.
The Miami Herald reports that Riddell was the director of college entrance
exam preparation at IMG Academy, a Florida-based facility that states it
is focused on improving students' academic and athletic performance. IMG
Academy did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment, and
Tuesday evening they put out a statement on Twitter announcing that
Riddell was suspended indefinitely.
“Today we were made aware of the charges against Mark Riddell. Riddell has
been suspended indefinitely as we investigate this matter,” IMG Academy
posted in a tweet.
A biography of Riddell was removed from IMG Academy's website, but a
cached version of the site viewed Tuesday afternoon showed that he had
worked at the academy since 2006. The cached site read that he is an
alumni of Harvard University and "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."
He is also listed a ranked professional tennis player and an alum of IMG
Academy himself.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
students-smart/story?id=61641180
The man accused of taking college entrance exams for high school students
as part of a cheating ring has issued an apology, but hopes that his non-
criminal work will help show “the person I truly am.”
Mark Riddell released a statement through his attorneys on Wednesday, the
day after it was announced that he is facing two criminal charges of
conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and
conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection to his alleged
involvement in the scheme.
"I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the
damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my
needless actions. I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of
trust in the college admissions process," he said in the statement
released by Stechschulte Nell, Attorneys at Law.
"I assume full responsibility for what I have done. I do, however, want to
clarify an assertion that has arisen in the media coverage. I absolutely,
unequivocally never bribed anyone, nor has the Information filed by the
U.S. Attorney's Office charged me with any form of bribery," the statement
reads.
The 36-year-old is expected to face a judge in Massachusetts on April 12.
"I will always regret the choices I made, but I also believe that the more
than one thousand students I legitimately counseled, inspired, and helped
reach their goals in my career will paint a more complete picture of the
person I truly am,” the statement concluded.
U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling detailed the process of the
alleged scheme at a news conference Tuesday morning and described Riddell
as "just a really smart guy."
PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling
announces indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal,
during a news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Boston.Steven
Senne/AP
U.S. Attorney for District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling announces
indictments in a sweeping college admissions bribery scandal, during a
news conference, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in Boston.more +
"He 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,"
the leading federal prosecutor said of Riddell.
Instead, William "Rick" Singer — who pleaded guilty to racketeering
conspiracy and other charges for orchestrating the cheating ring — would
arrange for Riddell to get a copy of the test from a bribed test
administrator and then take it on behalf of the student.
"Singer would discuss with their clients what kind of score they were
looking for. If your daughter took the S.A.T. 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," Lelling said.
The multi-paged criminal complaint reads that Riddell conspired with
Singer from 2011 to 2019.
PHOTO: William Rick Singer leaves the federal courthouse after facing
charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme in Boston,
March 12, 2019.Brian Snyder/Reuters
Although the court documents do not state the amount of times that Riddell
was involved in either completing or correcting individuals' tests, it
detailed a June 2018 incident, where the original plan was to have Riddell
"secretly correct" one student's answers, after the student took the test
himself.
In a turn of events, the complaint read, the teenager was sick when it
came time to travel to the Houston test site so Riddell took the test for
him.
However, in at least this one instances when Riddell took the exam in
place of high school students, the criminal complaint charges that he did
not sit for the exam with other high schoolers — which may have sparked
suspicions because based on his college graduation year, he is likely in
his mid to late thirties.
To fulfill the plan, according to the criminal complaint, the 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 — who is based in Palmetto, Florida, which is south of Tampa —
would receive a copy of the ACT from a bribed test administrator and take
the exam in his hotel room after flying to one of the two alleged test
centers involved in the scandal.
The criminal complaint further charges that Riddell reported back to
Singer that he "predicted that he would score a 35 out of 36 on the ACT
exam."
PHOTO: The University of Southern California campus, 2014.Jeffrey
Greenberg/UIG via Getty Images, FILE
The University of Southern California campus, 2014.
Riddell was paid $10,000 for his part in that scheme and, he was right: he
got a 35 on the exam.
The Miami Herald reports that Riddell was the director of college entrance
exam preparation at IMG Academy, a Florida-based facility that states it
is focused on improving students' academic and athletic performance. IMG
Academy did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment, and
Tuesday evening they put out a statement on Twitter announcing that
Riddell was suspended indefinitely.
“Today we were made aware of the charges against Mark Riddell. Riddell has
been suspended indefinitely as we investigate this matter,” IMG Academy
posted in a tweet.
A biography of Riddell was removed from IMG Academy's website, but a
cached version of the site viewed Tuesday afternoon showed that he had
worked at the academy since 2006. The cached site read that he is an
alumni of Harvard University and "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."
He is also listed a ranked professional tennis player and an alum of IMG
Academy himself.
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---
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