Stephanie Ellsworth had a problem. She was eager to enroll in a criminal justice program, but lacked a high school diploma.
Her predicament didn’t last long. She was told by a for-profit college that she could get a diploma from a Westside private school simply by taking a test and paying $280. She wouldn’t have to do any coursework, or even set foot on the tiny campus of West Hollywood College Preparatory School.
So that is what she did. Within a few weeks, the 31-year-old had her diploma signed by West Hollywood Prep’s principal, Elina Dvorskaya.
That was in 2014 — five years before the school’s former director, Igor Dvorskiy, was accused of conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, the admitted mastermind of a national college admissions scheme. Federal prosecutors say Dvorskiy was bribed $10,000 per student to allow a test-taking whiz to doctor SAT or ACT exams for children of the wealthy.
Read the full story at LATimes.com.
