Ex-Harvard Coach, Businessman Charged In $1.5M Bribes Scheme

The former fencing coach at Harvard and a wealthy Maryland businessman were arrested Monday on accusations that the coach accepted $1.5 million in bribes in exchange for helping the businessman get his two sons into the Ivy League school as recruited fencers.

Peter Brand, 67, who was fired by Harvard last year, and Jie “Jack” Zhao, 61, of Potomac, Maryland, face a charge of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Their arrest comes more than a year after a newspaper reported that Brand sold his home for nearly double its assessed value to Zhao. Prosecutors say Zhao also paid for Brand's car and made college tuition payments on behalf of Brand's son.

“Today’s arrests show how Peter Brand’s and Jie Zhao’s plan to circumvent the college admissions process ended up backfiring on both of them. Now they are accused of exchanging more than $1.5 million in bribes for their own personal benefit,” Joseph Bonavolonta, head of the FBI Boston Division, said in an emailed statement.

Emails seeking comment were sent to lawyers for the two men.

https://www.wbur.org/edify/2020/11/16/peter-brand-harvard-college-admissions-scandal-arrest