Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://gijn.org/tag/document-of-the-day/)
The federal indictment of Stephen Bannon, President Donald Trump’s former senior campaign advisor, provides a chilling case study in how fraudsters can exploit the fervor of political supporters in a partisan landscape.
In a sweeping set of charges, federal officials announced “the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice.” Dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues” by the FBI, prosecutors used RICO — federal anti-racketeering laws — to allege that some 50 people conspired to cheat on standardized tests or bribe coaches and other school officials to accept students into elite colleges. At the alleged center of the conspiracy: a for-profit college prep agency and an associated nonprofit foundation.
