Potomac Businessman Indicted In $1.5M College Bribery Scheme

POTOMAC, MD — A Potomac businessman and Harvard University's former fencing coach were indicted last week on charges they participated in a $1.5 million bribery scheme to get the businessman's two sons into the Ivy League school.

Jie "Jack" Zhao, 61, a wealthy telecom executive, and Peter Brand, 67, who was fired by Harvard last year, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on Dec. 7, the Justice Department announced in a press release. They were arrested last month.

Zhao is accused of shelling out more than $1.5 million in bribes so that Brand would recruit his children to the fencing team, thereby getting them into Harvard, according to federal prosecutors. The bribes, officials said, included payments for a car and a house in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Boston.

The indictment comes more than a year after a sprawling federal investigation accused more than 50 people of participating in a scheme to get their children into elite universities. Famous parents charged in that scandal include actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

Zhao and Brand's cases, however, are separate from the recent college admissions scandal, according to The Associated Press.

The charge of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.

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