Too deep inside
Former Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoerwho agreed to accept two donations from Singer to the sailing program in exchange for two places in the school (none of the applicants completed the process), was the first of 50 people convicted after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit harassment. When the judge found that he was the least guilty of all those involved in never trying to enrich himself, he was given a two-year custody release, the first six months of which he was detained at home. He finished his sentence in December 2019.
Vandemoer, who participated in the film, recalls the first time Singer approached him to inquire about a location for the aspiring cardinal Yusi “”Molly “Zhao. The coach said his recruiting was complete for the year. Life went on, but Singer later got in touch to thank him – Molly had got on and her family wanted to donate $ 500,000 to the sailing program, apparently without anything. When Vandemoer mentioned Singer to his supervisor, the sporting director said, “Oh yeah, I know Rick.” (A title card in the film notes that Stanford has denied the AD knew of Singer or inappropriate gifts to the university. Since then, it has distributed $ 770,000 in donations Singer received for various purposes.)
Robert FisherVandemoer’s attorney speculates that the $ 500,000 – apparently unconditional – “may have been a huge down payment for access to the campus sailing program.”
Prosecutors said the Zhao family (pharmaceutical billionaires in China) paid Singer a total of $ 6.5 million and Singer donated $ 500,000 to the sailing program. No one in the Zhao family has been charged with a crime, but Molly, who started Stanford in 2017, was expelled for her sophomore year. Her mother’s lawyer told the New York Times in May 2019 that they were victims of Singer’s plan and believed they were making a legitimate $ 6.5 million donation to the school.
“This generous act was done not only for the good of the school and its students, but also out of the love and support of Yusi through a caring mother,” said the attorney, who also noted that Molly applied and was accepted to a number of Schools “through ordinary channels”.
