College Admissions Scandal: Chinese Woman Arrested In Spain For Bribing Her Son Into UCLA

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday said that a Chinese woman was arrested in Spain for allegedly paying $400,000 in bribes to get her son into the University of California Los Angeles. She has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

Xiaoning Sui, 48, who lives in British Columbia, Canada, is the 52nd person to be charged as part of the college admissions scandal, where the wealthy have bribed individuals, such as test administrators and coaches, to grant their children access to elite colleges and universities across the country.

Sui had enlisted the fraudulent services of William Rick Singer, a purported college counselor and key figure in the scandal. Sui paid Singer the $400,000 bribe to get her son into UCLA as a soccer recruit, although he doesn't actually play soccer.

Sui had another co-conspirator, Laura Janke, make a fake soccer profile for her son to give the story credibility. In November 2018, her son was granted admission to UCLA on a 25% scholarship.

Janke had pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in May.

Prosecutors are attempting to extradite Sui from Spain to Boston to face charges in the case.

Other notable individuals in the scandal include Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, who was sentenced to 14 days in jail last week for paying $15,000 to Singer to increase her daughter's SAT scores.

Lori Loughlin, who starred in the television series Full House, was charged in March with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, pleading not guilty to the charges in April. She and her husband allegedly paid $500,000 in bribes to get her two daughters into the University of Southern California.

The college admissions scandal has been criticized by politicians for showing that the American university system can be manipulated by the rich.

Democratic candidate for president and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has said that he has "zero sympathy" for the rich parents involved in the scandal.