Phil Mickelsonhas admitted to usingWilliam “Rick” Singer‘s company to help his children get into college but denied any involvement with thealleged nationwide scheme.
On Thursday, the professional golfer, 48, revealed in a tweet that he was one of the many who used Singer’s Edge College & Career Network company but received admissions guidance and not anything more. Singer is believed to be the mastermind of the alleged scheme.
Unlikethe 50 people who have been indictedas part of the alleged nationwide fraud, Mickelson said he was not involved, in part because his three children — Evan, 15, Sophia, 17 and Amanda, 19 — would “disown” him and his wife Amy if they “tried to interfere.”
“Obviously, we were not part of this fraud, our kids would disown us if we ever tried to interfere,” Mickelson added.
Reps for Mickelson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Phil Mickelson.Ross Kinnaird/Getty
Federal court records unsealed in Boston on Monday named 50 people, including high profile actressesFelicity HuffmanandFuller HouseactressLori Loughlin,who were indicted as part of the alleged nationwide college scheme, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts.
Some named in the court documents allegedly paid bribes of up to $6 million to get their children into elite colleges, including Yale, Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, UCLA, the University of San Diego, University of Texas and Wake Forest, according to federal prosecutors.
VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty; Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock
It also helped students get into top colleges as athletes no matter what their abilities or even if they played the sport, according to the indictment. Athletic coaches from Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest and Georgetown, were also implicated.
Huffman, 56,allegedly gave $15,000to Singer and his nonprofit organization, Key Worldwide Foundation “to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on behalf of her oldest daughter,” the indictment states.
Loughlin, 54, allegedly gave $500,000 to have her children designated as crew team recruits, when they had never rowed, the indictment states.
Both actresses weretaken into custodyandreleased on bonds this week, with an upcoming court date scheduled for March 29 in Boston.
From left: Olivia Jade Giannulli, Lori Loughlin and Isabella Rose Giannulli.Gabriel Olsen/Getty
Singer, meanwhile, pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy; money laundering conspiracy; conspiracy to defraud US; obstruction of justice on Tuesday. He was released on a $500,000 bond and his sentencing is scheduled for June 19.
Mickelson and his wife both graduated from Arizona State University — the same school that Loughlin and her husband, fashion designerMossimo Giannulli, were hoping their daughter Isabella Rose, 20, could avoid.
Mickelson’s eldest daughter Amanda currently attends Brown University,according toThe New York Times.
source: people.com
