Florida residents may have heard about a scandal involving celebrities paying a consultant to help their kids get into college. Individuals such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are said to have been involved with the scheme. It involved paying the consultant to create false academic records to help their children gain admittance to a variety of schools throughout the country. In some cases, the consultant would send false test scores or bribe officials in exchange for admission.
In some cases, he would even manipulate stock photos to make it look like the child was good at sports. The consultant was paid anywhere from $200,000 to $6.5 million for his services. Authorities were advised of the potential illegal activity while investigating an unrelated case. So far, 50 people have been charged in the scam that was dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.
There may be a perception that white-collar crime charges aren’t as serious as other types of illegal activity. However, there is still the chance that an individual who is charged with such a crime could face serious penalties. These penalties may include spending time in prison in addition to paying a fine and restitution. Individuals may also spend time on probation or face additional consequences for a conviction in a criminal matter.
Those who are facing these types of criminal charges may want to meet as soon as possible with a criminal defense attorney. After a review of all of the facts of the particular case, the attorney can review the various alternative strategies that could be employed to counter the allegations.