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B.C. mom facing more charges in U.S. college bribery scandal

Two counts of money laundering and three counts of wire fraud added to list of charges
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Janss Steps at UCLA. (Wikimedia Commons)

A Surrey mother accused of paying $400,000 for her son to be admitted into UCLA as a fake soccer recruit is now facing more charges.

Xiaoning Sui, 48, was arrested in Spain on Sept. 16 in connection to the U.S. college bribery scandal, and charged with with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

She is now also being charged with an expanded conspiracy charge, two counts of money laundering and three counts of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, according to an updated indictement filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.

She is currently detained and her extradition to Boston is pending.

According to court documents unsealed in Boston Monday, Sui allegedly paid $400,000 to William “Rock” Singer in 2018, in order to have her son admitted to UCLA as a soccer recruit.

Evidence includes phone calls beginning in August 2018 where Singer, a Newport Beach college consultant, allegedly told Sui she would be “guaranteed” admission into the university in exchange for the large sum of money.

Sui is the 52nd person to be indicted for allegedly using bribery or other forms of fraud, including celebrities like Lori Laughlin, as well as Felicity Huffman who was sentenced to 14 days behind bars and a $30,000 fine.

ALSO READ: Accused test-taker pleads guilty in college bribery scandal involving B.C. businessman

The only other B.C. defendant in the case so far, former CFL player David Sidoo, pleaded not guilty after being charged in March with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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