Former HISD employee sentenced for role in college admissions scandal

FILE - (Steven Senne, Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

HOUSTON – A former Houston Independent School District employee was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a forfeiture of $12,500 after pleading guilty in connection with her involvement in the college admissions scandal that rocked the country.

Niki D. Williams, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and honest services wire fraud and mail fraud.

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READ: How prosecutors say Niki Williams is involved in college admissions scandal

Prosecutors said Williams administered the SAT and ACT tests at a high school in Houston where she worked and pocketed thousands in bribes from parents all across the country to help their children get a better score on the ACT and SAT.

Prosecutors said that in exchange for bribe payments directed to her by co-conspirators William “Rick” Singer and fellow Houstonian Martin Fox, Williams allowed another co-conspirator, Mark Riddell, to secretly take ACT and SAT tests in place of the children of Singer’s clients or to replace their exam answers with his own corrected answers. Williams then returned the falsified exams to the ACT and College Board for scoring, officials say.

Singer, Riddell and Fox have all previously pleaded guilty to the charges they faced and are cooperating with prosecutors, officials said.


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