Suspects accused of felony fraud and conspiracy in plot
to pay for better marks
at Diablo Valley College
Contra Costa County prosecutors have charged 34 current and former Diablo Valley College students with felony fraud and conspiracy in a cash-for-grades scheme that could imprison some for years.
Police were arresting suspects across California, and a number were in custody at County Jail in Martinez.
Julian Revilleza, who investigators said was a ringleader, was charged with 23 felonies and could be sentenced to nearly 70 years in prison if convicted.
He was not in custody Tuesday afternoon, but his bail was set at $575,000. Revilleza is believed to be a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
The ringleaders took in thousands of dollars and had a constant flow of customers, documents show.
Prosecutors say students met with ringleaders in malls, gyms and supermarkets, handing over hundreds of dollars in plain white envelopes, according to criminal complaints filed this week...
...The charges illustrate the wide-ranging nature of the scandal, which has embarrassed the college and harmed its reputation among university registrars and regional accreditors.
According to the complaints, students used the falsified transcripts to transfer to universities including UC Berkeley, UC Davis and San Francisco State.
Court documents also revealed what was, at times, a cloak-and-dagger operation and how far some students were willing to go to ensure they would transfer to a four-year university.
One man, now a student at San Francisco State, used his credit card to withdraw $4,000 in cash to pay a suspected ringleader, Francis Antonio, for at least 15 grade changes, prosecutors said.
Documents also show that many of the suspects lied to investigators after the scheme was uncovered in January 2006. According to the complaints, in one case "Revilleza told them to lie to the police when they went in for their interview and make up a story about being approached by a male in the library."...
...The long-running plot, revealed by the Times in January, was fostered by the college's wide-open grade-management system. Nearly 90 people, including student employees, were authorized to change grades at DVC and the district's other two colleges, Contra Costa and Los Medanos.
Investigators discovered that a handful of Los Medanos grades had been changed from DVC computers. Some of the changes were made by students who were not authorized to alter transcripts but secretly used the computers of those who were allowed to change grades...
This from the San Jose Mercury News.
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