Mother of student who paid $6.5M to Stanford says she was duped

SCREEN CAPTURE / DOUYU

Student Yusi Zhao has left Stanford University.

The mother of the former Stanford student who paid $6.5 million to a consultant in order to get her daughter into the world-famous university says she is a victim of a scam.

In a statement, a lawyer for the mother of Chinese student Yusi Zhao said the California-based so-called college admissions counselor Rick Singer took advantage of her family’s inexperience with the American system of higher education and duped her into paying millions of dollars that was supposed to help low-income students.

“Like many families from Asia, Mrs. Zhao is not familiar with the admission process for colleges in the United States and has through recommendations from third parties consulted education advisers to assist Yusi,” the statement sent by lawyer Vincent Law to the Daily News said.

Zhao's father is Chinese billionaire Zhao Tao, chairman of Shandong Buchang Pharmaceuticals, reports the Stanford Daily.

Law said his client’s daughter had “a track record of good academic performance and extra-curricular achievements” but was never guaranteed admission to Stanford by Singer.

Stanford said the school never received a "donation" of $6.5 million. However, the school's sailing program accepted $700,000 from Singer.

“Since the matters concerning Mr. Singer and his foundation have been widely reported, Mrs. Zhao has come to realize she has been misled, her generosity has been taken advantage of and her daughter has fallen victim to the scam,” Law’s statement said.

In a 2017 video posted on the popular Chinese platform Douyu, a student who identified herself as Yusi Zhao said she was admitted to Stanford through her own hard work.

"This year I am admitted to Stanford. I'm really lucky I'd like to say," Zhao said in the 90-minute video. "I want to tell you all that I gained my admission into Stanford through my own hard effort. ... I wasn't doing well academically when I was in elementary school, but I can now go to Stanford after working hard."

She made no mention about the contrived sailing experience that was used to round out her personal story.

Since the college admission scandal broke, Yusi Zhao moved out of the on-campus residence and expelled from the school for falsifying her application.

No charges have been filed against the Zhao family although charges have been brought against about 50 other people who have paid much lower fees, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

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Chinese billionaire paid $6.5 million to get daughter into Stanford

The Chinese family who allegedly paid $6.5 million to get their daughter into Stanford University has been identified.

The billionaire family of former sophomore Yusi Zhao paid the largest amount of money in the college admissions scandal.

Yusi Zhao's father, Tao Zhao, is the chairman and co-founder of the pharmaceutical company Shandong Buchang, based in Heze, China.

The Zhao's -- parents or daughter -- have not been charged, according to the Los Angeles Times. They were referred to the admissions scam's ringleader, William Rick Singer, by an employee at Morgan Stanley, the source said.

Dozens of families have been connected to the scandal, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.

Yusi Zhao reportedly left her on-campus residence at the end of March. Her profile has been deleted from the campus directory on April 10. A declared East Asian Studies major, Yusi was a member of Stanford’s Forum for American-Chinese Exchange (FACES), and had planned to attend Stanford’s Bing Overseas Studies Program’s inaugural Hong Kong program in fall 2019, according to the Stanford Daily.

Stanford spokespeople said they are unable to confirm or deny whether Yusi has been expelled due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

In order to get Yusi Zhao into Stanford, Singer allegedly created a fake bio of her as a competitive sailing athlete in order to get her admitted with the cooperation of the sailing coach. She was not offered an athletic scholarship.

Singer promised to donate $500,000 to the Stanford sailing program over the course of several years.

Former Stanford sailing head coach John Vandemoer pleaded guilty to racketeering in collaboration with Singer’s fraudulent charity. Both Vandemoer and his attorney Robert Fisher declined to comment to the Stanford Daily.

The second largest sum paid to Singer -- $1.2 million -- was also paid by a Chinese family to get their daughter into Yale. The family of former student Sherry Guo was also not charged.

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