Another parent has been arrested in connection to the so-called “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal, this time for allegedly spending $400,000 to get her son a spot at the University of California-Los Angeles.
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a Chinese woman based in Canada named Xiaoning Sui has been arrested in Spain in connection to her alleged efforts to get her son into UCLA.
Sui, 48, faces one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud. She is being detained in Spain but the Department of Justice notes that authorities plan to extradite her to Boston.
The indictment, which was unsealed on Tuesday in federal court, details how Sui allegedly agreed to pay the college admissions scandal’s alleged ringleader Rick Singer $400,000 to have her son be pitched as a soccer recruit to UCLA to gain admission to the school.
An alleged co-conspirator named Laura Janke reportedly made a fake soccer profile for Sui’s son, who is not named in the Department of Justice news release and whose age is also not shared.
Janke is cooperating with the government’s investigation and previously plead guilty, the release states.
Sui allegedly made two payments to Singer’s fake charitable organization, the first for $100,000 in October 2018 and the second for $300,000 in November 2018, after her son had been admitted by UCLA and awarded a 25% scholarship, the Department of Justice release states.
This new arrest comes days after one of the highest profile suspects in the scandal was sentenced.
Actress Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison, ordered to pay a $30,000 fine, and complete 250 hours of community service for paying $15,000 to have someone rig her daughter’s SAT score.
