A Malibu parent who paid $75,000 to William "Rick" Singer — the mastermind behind the college admissions — to fix his daughter's ACT exam has died by suicide.
Robert Flaxman, the 66-year-old Los Angeles real estate agent and former CEO of Crown Realty and Development, had spent one month in jail, 250 hours of community service, and $50,000 in fines for his involvement in the "Varsity Blues" scandal. He died at his home on Oct. 20.
From Yahoo!:
Flaxman's attorney, William Weinreb, said that his client had been driven by a misguided desire to help his daughter get into a "lower-tier school" after years of troubles left her with a "checkered disciplinary record and modest grades."
Weinreb said that Flaxman tried to get his daughter's life back on track by trying to get her into a four-year college and that Singer told him his daughter wouldn't get into the University of San Francisco or any other school if she didn't have a good ACT score. Flaxman accepted Singer's offer to rig the test, Weinreb said.
And from Daily Beast:
The Real Deal, which first reported Flaxman's suicide, says the CEO of Crown Realty & Development controlled a $600 million portfolio before he was arrested in 2019. …
But Flaxman had a troubled daughter and he was desperate for her to land at a four-year college despite her poor grades and personal difficulties, his lawyer said in court papers.
He conspired with Rick Singer to have his daughter take the ACT at a Houston exam center where she got help answering questions from a corrupt proctor—and then wrote off his "donation" to Singer's fake charity on his taxes.
Flaxman—who bought a $12 million mansion after being indicted—sobbed and pleaded for leniency when he was sentenced. "What I did was wrong and I make no excuses for it," Flaxman said then.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States' first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text "HOME" to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
