{"id":344795,"date":"2021-09-25T23:17:30","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T20:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/stanford-coach-in-admissions-scandal-says-hes-innocent\/"},"modified":"2021-09-25T23:17:30","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T20:17:30","slug":"stanford-coach-in-admissions-scandal-says-hes-innocent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/stanford-coach-in-admissions-scandal-says-hes-innocent\/","title":{"rendered":"#Stanford coach in admissions scandal says he&#8217;s innocent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Stanford coach in admissions scandal says he&#8217;s innocent<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>John Vandemoer still remembers the call he got on Oct. 5, 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was from William \u201cRick\u201d Singer, a college placement counselor. Vandemoer had been working as Stanford University\u2019s sailing coach since 2009 and Singer regularly connected him with <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>licants hoping to join the sailing program, who also happened to have parents with deep pockets.<\/p>\n<p>Singer said that a prospective student had opted to go with Vanderbilt instead \u201cand they\u2019re not going to make their five-hundred-thousand payment to you,\u201d he explained. The donation had been originally promised as a gift to the sailing program, Vandemoer says \u2014 not as a bribe to ensure a coveted spot at the prestigious school.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I\u2019m still going to be supportive,\u201d Singer continued. \u201cI will figure out what can make sense so I can pay you. One-hundred \u2014 maybe two-hundred-thousand. Would that be OK?\u201d He ended up sending Vandemoer a check for $160,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-amazon wp-block-embed-amazon\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Rigged Justice: How the College Admissions Scandal Ruined an Innocent Man's Life\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"618\" height=\"550\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" style=\"max-width:100%\" src=\"https:\/\/read.amazon.com\/kp\/card?preview=inline&amp;linkCode=kpd&amp;ref_=k4w_oembed_cEJyKafj7df9yw&amp;asin=0063020106&amp;tag=kpembed-20\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Singer said that it was a way to \u201ckeep our relationship alive,\u201d and told him to consider it \u201ca deposit for the next year\u2019s kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Looking back, Vandemoer thought it was an unusual choice of words, but as he says in his new memoir, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B08RDTR13K\/?tag=nypost-20\">Rigged Justice: How the College Admissions Scandal Ruined an Innocent Man\u2019s Life<\/a>\u201d (HarperOne), he believed he had been taking money from Singer on behalf of families simply as donations, unrelated to whether kids were accepted by Stanford. He said he never thought the two were linked.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Small, non-revenue-generating college sports like sailing \u201clived and died on donations,\u201d Vandemoer writes. \u201cAnd as the head coach, I was responsible for bringing much of that money in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He would eventually haul in $610,000 from Singer. A chunk of it came from one family whose daughter didn\u2019t even end up joining the sailing club, but mostly it arrived from Singer as \u201cdeposits,\u201d Vandemoer writes.<\/p>\n<p>But in February 2019, special agents from the IRS and FBI knocked on Vandemoer\u2019s door, flashing their badges and telling him he was under investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He learned that his calls with Singer had been recorded by the FBI, as part of an investigation called \u201cOperation Varsity Blues.\u201d Fifty-three people \u2014 nine coaches and thirty-three parents, including celebrities Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin \u2014 would soon be charged with taking part in a conspiracy, aided by Singer, to bribe college officials at prestigious universities like Yale, UCLA, USC and Georgetown.<\/p>\n<p>Vandemoer, 41 at the time, was the very first person to be charged, accused of accepting $610,000 in bribes in exchange for giving preferential treatment to applicants, regardless of their experience, to be recruited for Stanford\u2019s sailing team. If convicted, he faced a maximum of 60 years behind bars.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"John Vandemoer maintains in a new book that he did not know the money sent by William \u201cRick\u201d Singer was a quid pro quo to get rich students into Stanford.\" class=\"wp-image-19579128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>John Vandemoer maintains in a new book that he did not know the money sent by William \u201cRick\u201d Singer was a quid pro quo to get rich students into Stanford.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Pete Thompson<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In March of 2019, a federal judge sentenced him to two years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and a $10,000 fine.<\/p>\n<p>Now, as he has finished his house arrest sentence for his involvement in the college admissions scandal, this is what Vandemoer knows he should have said to Singer: \u201cWhat are you talking about, Rick? What do you mean a deposit for next year\u2019s kid? Why is it a deposit?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vandemoer grew up on Cape Cod,  Mass., sailing at the Hyannis Yacht Club and dreaming of competing at the Olympics. He gave up as a player and became the youngest varsity head coach at the US Naval Academy, eventually joining Stanford in 2009 when they offered him the position of head sailing coach. <\/p>\n<p>During all his coaching years, he had never gotten a call from a recruiter before, and \u201cit wasn\u2019t even on my radar to be alert or protective,\u201d he told The Post. He was aware of scandals in other sports, like the NCAA men\u2019s basketball corruption scandal of 2017, when the FBI arrested college coaches for bribery and money laundering. \u201cBut that would never happen to a sport like sailing or water polo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Stanford didn\u2019t offer much guidance on the subject, he said. The school\u2019s Athletics Director, Bernard Muir, only congratulated him on the considerable donations, Vandemoer claims, and asked vague questions like, \u201cYou didn\u2019t do anything for it, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d received zero training about the ethics or legality of donations,\u201d Vandemoer writes. \u201cMy assumption, mistaken I now know, was that any major contribution would trigger a thorough investigation.\u201d Instead, when he mentioned the six-figure donations to top officials at Stanford, \u201cthey were like, \u2018This is good! Keep going!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Two parents who pleaded guilty were celebs \u00adFelicity Huffman (left) and Lori Loughlin (right). \" class=\"wp-image-19579132\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-4.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Two parents who pleaded guilty were celebs \u00adFelicity Huffman (left) and Lori Loughlin (right). <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Singer also gave him little reason to worry. \u201cHe said explicitly that there were no strings attached\u201d to donations, Vandemoer said. \u201cHe wanted to support the sailing program. That was it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vandemoer used the money to pay for new boats and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>s to the East Coast for regattas. He was also looking for athletes who weren\u2019t superstars. And Singer provided him with a string of promising players he could mold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no problem recruiting A-plus players,\u201d he told Singer. \u201cI have too many. I mean, they can\u2019t all start, right? And then they get annoyed. They hate sitting on the bench.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For example, in early 2018, Bodhi Patel was a Stanford prospect with limited sailing experience whose family was \u201cvery affluent,\u201d Singer explained to Vandemoer. \u201cI\u2019m sure they would help your program if he gets in.\u201d He eventually opted for a different school and the family never donated, but Vandemoer was briefly intrigued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBodhi needed me more than I needed him, and that in itself was appealing,\u201d writes Vandemoer. \u201cMaybe it wouldn\u2019t be the worst thing to have a player who was not outstanding but was hungry for a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Vandemoer learned that he was being investigated by the FBI, it was a shock. \u201cMy players heard me say it day after day: nothing mattered more than honor and integrity,\u201d he writes. \u201cI\u2019d made kids forfeit races even when they\u2019d \u2018gotten away\u2019 with a rules violation on the course.\u201d He remembers an argument he once had with his wife, Molly, about whether it was ethical to take the tags off a new mattress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t,\u201d he told her. \u201cRead it. It says it\u2019s illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"William \u201cRick\u201d Singer concocted the illegal scheme to inflate entrance-exam scores and bribe officials.\" class=\"wp-image-19579129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>William \u201cRick\u201d Singer concocted the illegal scheme to inflate entrance-exam scores and bribe officials.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>His lawyer Robert Fisher told him he probably didn\u2019t stand a chance of beating the charges. Legal fees would cost him in the millions, and even if he won, \u201cyou probably won\u2019t have your job,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cThat\u2019s what winning looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was offered a plea bargain, which he didn\u2019t want to take. \u201cI\u2019m pleading guilty to something I didn\u2019t do,\u201d he told his lawyer. But he had no choice. \u201cThe second that I was accused of bribery and fraud by the government, my career was over,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was just no turning back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/fact-tank\/2019\/06\/11\/only-2-of-federal-criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty\/\">According to a 2019 Pew Research Center study<\/a>, more than 90 percent of people charged with federal crimes plead guilty, and most of them take plea deals. \u201cOf the two percent who actually go to trial, fewer than one percent win their cases,\u201d writes Vandemoer.<\/p>\n<p>So he took the plea deal. His sentence was far less than the 13 months in prison recommended by prosecutors. But during sentencing, the judge noted that among those accused in the scandal, she had \u201cnot heard of anyone who is less culpable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vandemoer, now 43, ended his house arrest in 2019, and returned to being a sailing coach, although only independently and only for kids between 10 and 13 year olds. He also started a new career as a project manager at Water Solutions, an engineering firm in Half Moon Bay, Calif., that specializes in the management of potable water.<\/p>\n<p>He still lives with the memory of what happened, replaying what he could have done or said to Singer before it was too late. But he\u2019s less angry at Singer or the prosecutors who brought him down than he is at Stanford. In particular, he felt that Muir could have done more to protect or advise him.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Standford University campus.\" class=\"wp-image-19579133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/rigged-justice-stanford-5.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Standford University campus.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Alamy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI could have asked more questions,\u201d said Vandemoer. \u201cBut how would I have even known to ask more questions? I assumed the university thoroughly vetted all gifts. That was not my job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The worst came when the FBI closed in, he said, and Stanford didn\u2019t support him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven after hearing that I took none of the money for myself, that all the money went to them, nobody said, \u2018Hey, maybe we should hear this guy\u2019s story,\u2019\u201d Vandemoer said. \u201cNope. They didn\u2019t want anything to do with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The University completely denies Vandemoer\u2019s account, claiming in a statement that Vandemoer \u201cnever spoke to the Athletic Director or any other senior person in Athletics about Singer.\u201d But they also stated in an external review that the school needed \u201cnew or more formalized procedures\u201d to better ward off future misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s much happier with his new job, where he isn\u2019t treated as a commodity. \u201cI don\u2019t wanna work for a corporation that treats employees like they\u2019re expendable,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m in a firm with five people that I completely trust, who support each other and if we have a problem, we don\u2019t email it. We talk to each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s funny,\u201d Vandemoer said. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I used to tell my students. It\u2019s what I thought we stood for, having tough conversations when we needed to have them and treating each other with respect and loyalty. But Stanford didn\u2019t do that for me.\u201d\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/25\/stanford-coach-in-admissions-scandal-says-hes-innocent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Stanford coach in admissions scandal says he&#8217;s innocent&#8221; John Vandemoer still remembers the call he got on Oct. 5, 2018.\u00a0 It was from William \u201cRick\u201d Singer, a college placement counselor. Vandemoer had been working as Stanford University\u2019s sailing coach since 2009 and Singer regularly connected him with applicants hoping to join the sailing program, who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":344796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/09\/john-vandemoer-scandal.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[116559,71503,71100,82249,55484,75562],"class_list":["post-344795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-9-25-21","tag-book-review","tag-college-admissions-scandal","tag-felicity-huffman","tag-lori-loughlin","tag-stanford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}