Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

Rick Singer (Matthew Modine) built on his career as a freelance college admissions coach to develop a successful scam selling access to elite universities, as portrayed in OPERATION VARSITY BLUES: THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL. Singer offered wealthy parents direct services like falsified results on their kids' standardized tests. He created a vast scheme providing what he called a "side door" entry to top colleges: by donating to college athletics programs through Singer's shell foundation, parents could essentially purchase a spot at a university by positioning their child as a fake athlete. Singer sold parents on the idea as a less expensive alternative to "back door" options involving acquiring access for a student by making a much bigger donation to a school, like Jared Kushner's father ostensibly did to get his son into Harvard. Singer was riding high until an informant traded information on him to the FBI, which involved Singer in a wiretap operation to implicate his clients. As many as 50 people, including some celebrities, were indicted in the operation. This documentary tells that story.