Steven Masera, the California accountant accused of handling the books for a test-fixing and bribery scheme that defrauded some of the country’s top universities, will plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy and has agreed to cooperate with investigators, according to court documents unsealed Friday.
As bookkeeper for William “Rick” Singer’s business and foundation, Masera, 69, billed parents who hired the Newport Beach college consultant to fix their children’s entrance exams and slip them into elite universities with bribes, according to an indictment charging Masera and 11 others in March with racketeering conspiracy.
Masera, who lives in the Sacramento suburb of Folsom, wrote the parents letters from Singer’s sham foundation, declaring falsely that nothing was exchanged for the five- and six-figure payments that, in truth, prosecutors say, went toward paying off coaches and test proctors.
The letters allowed Singer’s clients to write off the payments on their taxes.
Read the full story at LATimes.com.