What laws did Lori Loughlin (and friends) break?
<p>I watched the college admission scandal articles go by earlier in the week without much interest. Today I read <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-admissions-cheating-scandal-prosecutors-detail-how-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-and-more-allegedly-rigged-college-entrance-2019-03-12/" rel="noreferrer">College admissions scheme: How Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin allegedly participated</a>, but I am not clear what the issues are, and what laws were broken by Lori Loughlin and friends. A copy of the indictment was not provided with the stories I visited.</p>

<p>Naively, making donations to universities and non-profits to gain favorable treatment has been going on for 200 years in America. That is how the university system and fund raising works. I'm also not clear who the victims are. Are there competitive rowers who claimed they lost admission because of Loughlin and friends?</p>

<p>My first question is, what exactly was the crime that Loughlin and friends committed? Surely it cannot be illegal to proffer gifts to universities and charities.</p>

<p>From the link, it appeared that:</p>
<ol>
<li>Payments were made so that exam answers would be corrected before marking</li>
<li>Payments were made to have an athletic offer extended for a person who would not otherwise qualify.</li>
</ol>
<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fraud</a> and <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribery" rel="nofollow noreferrer">bribery</a> are both applicable crimes. Victims are not necessary for either crime.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>What they're currently being charged with:</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-965-conspiracy-violate-mail-fraud-or-wire-fraud-statutes" rel="nofollow noreferrer">conspiracy to commit mail fraud</a>: in this case, an agreement between two or more parties(people) had been entered into, to defraud another.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/publications/blt/2009/09/04_abbott/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">honest services fraud</a> </p>

<p>It's important to remember that these are the current blanket charges against the 50+ people that were apart of this scheme to bribe colleges.</p>

<p>Prosecutors are exploring future charges for <strong>SOME</strong> of the people involved.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Other charges that prosecutors have said they're exploring:</p>
</blockquote>

<p>racketeering conspiracy: under the <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-96" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RICO laws</a></p>

<p>conspiracy to defraud </p>

united-states gift