【外刊D08】美国司法部指控富豪家长涉嫌高校入学欺诈!!

今日导读

不少人都有“名校梦”,为了这个梦,有的人选择寒窗苦读。而在美国,有一群有钱有势的人则选择用欺诈的手段,将自己的小孩送进耶鲁大学、南加州大学等高等学府。近日,FBI 爆出了美国历史上规模最大的招生舞弊事件:几十位社会名流花重金、托关系,在美国高考中为自己的子女找替考、换试卷甚至篡改成绩,确保自己的孩子进入名校就读,其中不乏知名女星和商界名流等。这到底是怎么回事呢?今天让我们跟着 Daniel ,一起来看看《纽约时报》的这则新闻。

新闻原文

U.S. accuses rich parents of college entry fraud

In a major college admissions scandal that laid bare the elaborate lengths some wealthy parents will go to get their children into competitive American universities, federal prosecutors charged 50 people Tuesday in a brazen scheme to buy spots in the freshman classes at Yale, Stanford and other big name schools.

Thirty-three well-heeled parents were charged in the case, including Hollywood celebrities and prominent business leaders, and prosecutors said there could be additional indictments to come.

The scheme unveiled Tuesday was stunning in its breadth and audacity. It was the Justice Department's largest-ever college admissions prosecution, a sprawling investigation that involved 200 agents nationwide and resulted in charges against 50 people in six states.

Authorities say the parents of some of the nation’s wealthiest and most privileged students sought to buy spots for their children at top universities, not only cheating the system but also potentially cheating other hardworking students out of a chance at a college education.

In many of the cases, prosecutors said, the students were not aware that their parents were doctoring their test scores and lying to get them into school. Federal prosecutors did not charge any students or universities with wrongdoing.

“The parents are the prime movers of this fraud, ” Andrew E. Lelling, U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said Tuesday during a news conference. Lelling said that those parents used their wealth to create a separate and unfair admissions process for their children.

“The real victims in this case are the hardworking students” who were displaced in the admissions process by “far less qualified students and their families who simply bought their way in, ” Lelling said.

带着问题看讲解

固定搭配“lay bare”是什么意思?
attorney 和 lawyer 有什么区别?
你认为如何才能让教育变得更公平?

新闻正文【译】

U.S. accuses rich parents of college entry fraud

美国(司法部)指控富豪家长涉嫌高校入学欺诈

In a major college admissions scandal that laid bare the elaboratelengths some wealthy parents will go to get their children into competitive American universities, federal prosecutors charged 50 people Tuesday in a brazen scheme to buy spots in the freshman classes at Yale, Stanford and other big name schools.

周二,在一起重大高校招生丑闻中,美国联邦检察官对 50 人提出了诉讼。在这桩无耻的舞弊黑幕中,涉案人员通过行贿来购买耶鲁、斯坦福和其他名校的新生入学资格。这起招生丑闻披露了一些有钱的父母是如何处心积虑地将孩子送进竞争激烈的美国高校的。

Thirty-three well-heeled parents were charged in the case, including Hollywood celebrities and prominent business leaders, and prosecutors said there could be additional indictments to come.

33 名富豪家长在本案中被指控,包括好莱坞明星和杰出的商界领袖。检察官表示,之后可能会提起更多诉讼。

The scheme unveiled Tuesday was stunning in its breadth and audacity. It was the Justice Department's largest-ever college admissions prosecution, a sprawlinginvestigation that involved 200 agents nationwide and resulted in charges against 50 people in six states.

周二被曝光的欺诈案涉及面之广、手段之大胆令人震惊。作为美国司法部有史以来提起的最大一起高校招生诉讼,这项大规模调查动用了全国 200 名联邦探员,指控涉及到 6 个州的 50 人。

Authorities say the parents of some of the nation’s wealthiest and most privileged students sought to buy spots for their children at top universities, not only cheating the system but also potentially cheating other hardworking students out of a chance at a college education.

有关当局说,美国最富有最优越的一些学生的父母企图为他们的孩子在顶尖大学里“购买”一席之地,这不仅是钻制度的空子,还可能是在剥夺其他努力学习的学生接受大学教育的机会。

In many of the cases, prosecutors said, the students were not aware that their parents were doctoringtheir test scores and lying to get them into school. Federal prosecutors did not charge any students or universities with wrongdoing.

检察官说,在其中很多案件中,学生并没有意识到自己的父母是通过篡改考试成绩和欺诈使自己入学的。联邦检察官没有指控任何学生或大学有不法行为。

“The parents are the prime moversof this fraud,” Andrew E. Lelling, U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said Tuesday during a news conference. Lelling said that those parents used their wealth to create a separate and unfair admissions process for their children.

在周二的新闻发布会上,马萨诸塞州联邦检察官安德鲁·莱林说:“家长是这起欺诈案的主谋。” 莱林表示,这些父母利用他们的财富为子女另辟出一条不正当的入学道路。

“The real victims in this case are the hardworking students” who were displaced in the admissions process by “far less qualified students and their families who simply bought their way in,” Lelling said.

“这次案件的真正受害者是那些勤奋努力的学生”,他们在录取过程中,被“资质相差甚远的学生和通过行贿将孩子送进大学的家长”挤出了录取名单,莱林说。

重点词汇

个人笔记

Day 8

拓展阅读

联邦检察官(federal prosecutor)

在美国,检察官分为联邦检察官(federal prosecutor)和州检察官(state prosecutor)两类。联邦检察官由总统提名,参议院通过,负责对违反联邦法律的犯罪嫌疑人进行起诉,共有 94 名,分属全国 94 个联邦司法管辖区。

每个联邦司法管辖区均设有一个联邦检察官办公室,由一名联邦检察官和若干名助理检察官组成。他们参与辖区内案件的立案侦查,并负责向法庭提出诉讼,是联邦检察系统的主要力量。

联邦检察官和州检察官处理的案件类型有所不同。这并不是根据犯罪严重程度区分,而是看犯罪行为是否涉及多个州,是否侵害了联邦利益。全国的联邦检察官和 2000 名助理联邦检察官负责调查违反联邦法律的犯罪,比如走私毒品和公职腐败案件等。

美国大学舞弊案

美国波士顿联邦检察办公室在召开的记者会上表示,这起美国大学舞弊案的最大“主谋”为威廉·辛格(William Singer),他成立了一家名为 Key World wide Foundation 的非盈利慈善基金,通过“慈善”的方式掩人耳目,开展招生咨询。他通过行贿帮助富家子弟进入名校。

他和他的团队主要有两种作弊手段:篡改考生的试卷和将学生身份伪造成运动员。

篡改考生的试卷:辛格会直接买通考官,在考试的后半部分请他们纠正学生的答案,助力考生交出一份满意的答卷。比如有线人表示,辛格向出演过《绝望的主妇》的女演员菲丽西提·霍夫曼(Felicity Huffman)建议,安排第三方在她大女儿考完 SAT 后修改答卷上的内容。霍夫曼的女儿那次的 SAT 成绩为 1420 分,比模考高出整整 400 分。

将学生身份伪造成运动员:美国大学会招收体育特长生,辛格曾多次钻空子,将本不是体育特长生的富二代送至各大名校。他会教导这些富家子弟摆拍各种运动场景,甚至直接用 PS 把他们的脸合成在专业运动员的脸上,保证他们会被录取。比如好莱坞著名女演员洛莉·路格林(Lori Loughlin)就通过中介把她两个女儿的身份伪造成了帆船特长生,借此被斯坦福大学录取。

辛格将他的贿赂和洗钱体系比喻为一道“侧门”:“打个比方,有一道正门是学生通过自己的努力进去的,还有一道后门是专门让那些给学校砸钱的富家子弟进的,但这些都不能保证他们进得去。于是,我设计了一道侧门,这道侧门能保证所有学生都能进去。这对很多家庭来说非常有吸引力,因为我言出必行。”

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