Test center’s role in scam detailed

The two Houston residents charged in the nationwide college admissions and bribery scam ran a testing center at Jack Yates High School that allegedly helped at least three out-of-town students cheat on their exams, according to court documents.

William Rick Singer, the alleged mastermind behind the scandal, instructed clients willing to pay to get their children into prestigious schools —that he “controlled” the testing center at Yates, where Houston resident Niki Williams worked as a teaching assistant, according to court documents.

Williams, 44, is accused of accepting bribes to facilitate the cheating at what is referred to in court documents as the “Houston Test Center.” She was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering Tuesday and was released on a $20,000 bond, according to records. She is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on March 25.

“We are aware that a staff member has been implicated. The Houston Independent School District does not condone any form of academic dishonesty,” the Houston Independent School District stated. “We will cooperate with authorities and we will look into this matter to determine if any of our students have been affected in any way.”

HISD declined to comment further.

The scandal, involving several universities and dozens of parents around the country, has sent the nation into a fury of shock and raised questions about the fraudulent activities that occur within higher education.

Martin Fox, 62, described in court documents as a Houston resident and president of a tennis academy and camp, played an integral role in keeping the test center and Singer’s plans going, according to court documents.

Fox introduced Singer to Williams and Michael Center, the former tennis coach at University of Texas, who has been charged with accepting $100,000 worth of bribes from Singer’s foundation in exchange for recruiting a student to the tennis team.

Fox received money for funneling payments to Williams, and arranging bribes to Center and a varsity sports coach at University of San Diego in exchange for student admission, according to the indictment. He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering Tuesday and was released on a $50,000 bond, according to records.

Kent Schaffer, an attorney for Fox, said there’s not enough evidence to prove the allegations against his client. He said the government is “trying to turn this case into something that it’s not.”

“They’ve alleged that (Fox) is a team member of a large scale racketeering enterprise. … They’ve grossly overcharged the case, but they’re acting as if it’s the grandest (scam),” Schaffer said. “That’s not true.”

Schaffer also defended Fox as someone who’s made apositive contribution as a coach.

“For many years, my client has been well-known and -respected in the field of athletics, both in high school and college,” Schaffer said, adding that students who studied and prepared through Fox’s academy played at major colleges.

Schaffer said Fox’s arraignment will take place in Boston on March 25.

Assistance on exams

Jane Buckingham was allegedly the most recent parent to send their child to Houston, according to the indictment. The Los Angeles-based founder of a boutique marketing firm allegedly gave a purported charitable donation of $50,000 in exchange for her son to take the ACT exam in Houston last summer, with plans for him to receive extended time and for Mark Riddell, of Florida, to illegally assist him on the exam.

Buckingham’s son was allegedly going to take the test at Yates, and later at Texas Southern University due to Yates’ remodeling, but plans changed.

In July, Buckingham said a doctor advised her son to not to fly to Houston due to tonsillitis and instead requested that Riddell take the test in Houston on his behalf, according to court documents. She allegedly requested a copy for her son “so that he would believe he had taken the test.”

Williams had to agree to oversee the process and send the copies, according to a transcription of a conversation included in court documents.

Though she agreed, “CW-1,” the Edge College and Career Network founder who matches Singer’s description, hinted at Williams’ nervousness in a conversation with Buckingham and said she demanded funds before carrying the deal forward, the indictment shows.

CW-1: “But, so, anyways, so the, she said she would do it, she would send us a copy of the test that we’re gonna take--”

BUCKINGHAM: “Okay.”

CW-1: “And then, even though we’re already gonna send in his test, there at least (your son) will have taken the same test.”

BUCKINGHAM: “Thank you, thank you.” …

CW-1: “And I’m already sending a check to the proctor today, and to Niki today, ’cause she said, ‘I gotta have the money first.’ ”

BUCKINGHAM: “Okay.”

CW-1: “I said, ‘Niki, I have been doing this forever.’ She said, ‘I get it, but this like, this is crazy.’ ”

Riddell, paid around $10,000 per test, took the ACT exam for Buckingham’s son in a hotel room in the Houston area in July 2018, earning the student a 35 out of 36 on the exam, according to court documents. Pleased with the results, Buckingham allegedly said she would consider the same scheme for her daughter, because she is “not a great test taker.”

‘We gotta be very careful’

California-based couple Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez participated in the scheme at least four times for their two daughters — one of whom they sent to the so-called “Houston Test Center” to take the ACT exam.

Riddell flew into Houston in October 2016, according to court records, this time proctoring the exam and discussing answers with the Henriquezes’ daughter and another student. Court documents stated that Riddell strategically “directed them each to answer different questions incorrectly in an effort to conceal their cheating from ACT,” according to court records.

Prosecutors said the Henriquezes’ daughter received a30 out of 36 on the exam, and in lieu of a $75,000 donation to Key Worldwide Foundation, Manuel Henriquez, the founder of a publicly traded finance company in Palo Alto, agreed to use his influence at his alma mater at Northeastern University in Boston to help an applicant secure admission to the school.

The family later allegedly had their daughter take SAT subject tests and an ACT exam in 2017 with a different proctor at the other testing center located in Los Angeles.

At the direction of law enforcement, Singer allegedly informed the Henriquezes that Williams had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury about their daughter and other students who had flown into Houston to take the ACT in 2016. In a recorded conversation, the Herniquezes scrambled to think of excuses for why she had taken the exam in Houston, according to court documents:

M. HENRIQUEZ: “So … Well, the … the question is that, anybody calls me, the response is that ‘I’m not gonna comment regarding my daughter’s Houston issue,’ on simply getting aphone call from somebody. Uh …”

E. HENRIQUEZ: “Well, remember she went there because she needed special …”

M.HENRIQUEZ: “I understand.”

CW-1: “Accommodations.”

E. HENRIQUEZ: “Accommodations”

M. HENRIQUEZ: “But I’m not gonna comment. We gotta be very careful …on just getting an inbound call from somebody. ‘I have no idea who you are. So I’m not responding to an inbound call from anybody.’ ”

Robert Flaxman was another parent willing to send his child to Houston to cheat. The president and CEO of a Los Angeles-based real estate development firm allegedly paid $250,000 in bribes that were ultimately funneled to the University of San Diego varsity coach in exchange for his son’s admission in 2016. That same year, Flaxman sent his daughter to take the ACT at the Houston Test Center with Riddell in October, according to court documents. Flaxman’s company allegedly wired $75,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation that same month.

Buckingham, the Henriquezes and Flaxman have all been charged with “conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud” and are set to appear in federal court in Boston on March 25, according to records. Riddell has also been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud and money laundering. Singer, who prosecutors said admitted to receiving around $25 million in bribes from parents, has pleaded guilty to all counts and charges, which included racketeering conspiracy; money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud US and obstruction of justice, according to records.

Seven students and parents filed a lawsuit this week against Singer, Key Worldwide, the Edge, and six of the universities involved, including UT, Stanford and UCLA. The group, which is demanding $5 million, argued in court documents that had they known their admissions process was “warped and rigged by fraud,” they would not have spent money to apply to the schools.

UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves responded to the many criminal allegations against Center in a letter addressed to the college Wednesday, stating that he takes it seriously and that the university will be conducting an investigation into the alleged fraud.

“The integrity of UT admissions is essential to our mission as a research university and to the students and families we serve. That is why any act of wrongdoing, no matter how singular, matters so deeply,” Fenves stated.

UT reviewing donations

The university is also reviewing its many gifts after learning about Center’s alleged bribes. Tax documents report that Key Worldwide had donated a total of $546,500 to UT Athletics in 2015 and 2016, and according to court documents, $40,000 worth of checks using the purported charity’s funds were also made payable to “Texas Athletics” in 2015. The university has stated that it only has record of $15,000, but is working to review gifts to see whether any past donations are related to the 2015 scam.

Gov. Greg Abbott said the national scandal and UT’s involvement should encourage universities in the state to take heed.

“As far as investigations are concerned, it’s appropriate that the federal authorities be able to continue their investigation as far as UT is concerned,” Abbott said Wednesday at the Governor’s Mansion. “But I will expand this to every university in the state of Texas; it’s important for every university to go back and re-evaluate, to study and to investigate their admissions processes to make sure that nothing like this either is happening or can happen. I expect all universities to look into this and to make sure they have procedures and policies in place so that this type of action will never be able to happen again.”

Jacob Carpenter and Allie Morris contributed to this report. brittany.britto@chron.com