Woman Implicated In College Admissions Scandal Co-Hosted Gillibrand Fundraiser

Alleged college admissions scam artist Jane Buckingham, accused of paying the University of Southern California $50,000 to have her child admitted, co-hosted a fundraiser for Democrat presidential candidate and New York Senator Kirstin Gillibrand only days before her indictment.

Gillibrand held an elitist fundraiser featuring co-hosts Will Ferrell, “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes, and author Samantha Ettus. According to Fox News, it cost donors $2,800 to be a co-host of the event. Among the list of co-hosts of the Saturday fundraiser was Buckingham, who was indicted in the college admissions scandal only days later.

Fox News reported that her son was contrite after learning about his mother’s implication in the scandal:

Meanwhile, Buckingham’s scandalized son Jack came clean in the Hollywood Reporter by telling the magazine: “I know there are millions of kids out there both wealthy and less fortunate who grind their ass off just to have a shot at the college of their dreams. I am upset that I was unknowingly involved in a large scheme that helps give kids who may not work as hard as others an advantage over those who truly deserve those spots.”

Buckingham allegedly explored the same scam for her daughter Lilia.

The scam, in which rich parents would allegedly buy places for their children by making generous donations to prestigious schools, began in 2011 through a college placement firm run by Rick Singer. It was discovered by police after a still-anonymous individual fessed up when questioned by police in an unrelated securities case, and seems to implicate many of the elite members of Hollywood and finance throughout the country.