In March 2019, the United States Department of Justice unveiled the Varsity Blues scandal, orchestrated by William “Rick” Singer. Portions of the scheme involved fraudulently inflated test scores by hiring test takers to complete standardized exams for the children of clients, as well as bribes to test administrators. Sports credentials were also fabricated as part of the scheme to boost the college applications of Singer’s clients.

Singer pleaded guilty to “racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of justice” according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. The same press release, published on Jan. 4, 2023, stated that Singer was sentenced to 42 months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release.

In order to facilitate the scheme, Singer used his company, The Edge College & Career Network, LLC, also known as “The Key”. Another nonprofit owned by Singer, The Key Worldwide Foundation, was also involved according to court documents from the Department of Justice.

As of August 2024, Singer was living in a halfway house, according to an article published on Oct 19, 2024 by the Wall Street Journal. At the time, the WSJ reported that Singer was running another college consulting firm called ID Future Stars, a name he previously used for one of his college counseling business ventures in the 1990’s. 

Singer previously worked as an assistant basketball coach at Sacramento Country Day from 1992-93.

On the website of his new counseling firm (idfuturestars.com), Singer states that “I am not afraid to tell people who I am and that I made a mistake, took full responsibility and want to share my expertise, passion, and desire to help shape our next generation’s leaders by helping each find a college and career that is the right choice for each individual.”

The Octagon was unable to find any registered company under the name “ID Future Stars” on the California Secretary of State Business Register. Singer’s previous company, Future Stars Inc. has a terminated status listed. Neither Singer nor an email listed for legal contact on the Future Stars website responded to requests asking to provide the name under which the company is registered. 

A page titled “Terms and Conditions” on the ID Future Stars website states that the site is “operated by ID FUTURE STARS, 950 North Kings Road Suite 104 Los Angeles California 90069.” Data aggregator sites show that the listed address has been associated with William Singer as of May 2024.

The Octagon has discovered that the website for “The Key,” using the same web address thekeyworldwide.com has become active since Sept. 2024, and is currently promoting a service dedicated to standardized exam cheating. 

Advertisements using the same web domain are found in an issue of the Westlake Malibu Lifestyle magazine dating from 2010.

The Key

A series of archived versions of the website was accessed through the Wayback Machine, a webpage archive service run by the American non-profit Internet Archive. The Wayback Machine takes snapshots of a given website, which is saved and publicly accessible.

A snapshot of the domain taken on Aug. 6, 2019, shows that it was a sports betting website, indicating that the domain had been sold since the scandal.

Aug. 06, 2019 version of thekeyworldwide.com

Another snapshot taken on Jun. 16, 2024 shows that the domain was for sale, listed by domain name registrar and web host Dynadot for a price of 3,358.26 euros (about 3,660.50 U.S. dollars).

The Wayback Machine saved a snapshot of the same domain on Sept. 12, 2024, showing that it was again a website advertising college counseling services. “We partner with your son or daughter to identify their strengths, unlock their potential, choose the right college, position themselves for admission, and outline a course of study and extracurricular experiences to lead to a life of success,” says the front page of the site.  Between Sept. 19 and Nov. 9, 2024, a link to the old version of the site as it appeared during the Varsity Blues scandal was also added. 

Sept. 12, 2024 screenshot

An update to a section of the front page of the site titled “Standardized Testing” was added between Nov. 9 and Nov. 18, 2024.

 Comparison between Nov. 09 2024 version (top) and Nov. 18 version (bottom)

A Nov. 18 2024 snapshot of the site shows that the section was updated with the text “We are happy to partner with California Exam Services to help you ace standardized tests such as the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT.” At the time of writing, this text has not changed. The hyperlinked text “California Exam Services” directly connects to california-exam.com, which advertises cheating services on standardized exams.

Screenshot of menu from California Exam Services. 

The Octagon contacted an email listed in court records for Singer, inquiring on his ownership of thekeyworldwide.com. Singer responded in a email saying that “our new website is idfuturestars.com.” When asked if he was affiliated with The Key in any manner, Singer  responded that he was “back in business and doing quite well.” Singer denied association with California Exam Services, responding “no” to an email questioning his affiliation with the site.

The Octagon was unable to find published media reports regarding Singer’s release made prior to Oct. 19, 2024, when the Wall Street Journal first published an article detailing his release. When contacted by The Octagon via email, an author of the article, Melissa Korn, wrote that the details of his release were discovered during an interview with Singer the same month. The Octagon was unable to use publicly available information to determine the current owners of the site, and contact information on thekeyworldwide.com appears to be placeholder information from the Neve WordPress website template.

Cheating Network

The California Exam Services website contains many links to another standardized test cheating website called examinator.cc. Pages of the site advertise cheating services from a broker named “Daisy,” the same broker name as examinator.cc. Testimonials on the California Exam website directly link to examinator.cc. 

 Both california-exam.com and examinator.cc instruct users to contact an account with the username “daisyexams” on the messaging service Telegram. The same username, can also be found on Instagram. The California Exam Services website also contains an AI generated video of a woman advertising Daisy’s services.

Screenshot from California Exam Services

The Octagon contacted “Daisy” from Examinator via Telegram posing as a student seeking services for proxy test taking on the Digital SAT, where another individual takes the test in lieu of the intended test taker.

 Prices were given based on desired exam scores, a score above 1400 was priced at $5000 dollars, while a score above 1550 would cost $9000. An initial deposit worth 50% of the original cost was also requested. The account on Telegram stated that a remote access software would be installed in order to allow access to the student’s device. If noticed by a proctor, the student would give “a signal” and would regain control of the cursor. Daisy then requested a 2500 US dollar deposit, with the other half to be paid after the exam was taken.

“We will only secure a test taker and send you a detailed preparation list upon receiving your deposit,” said Daisy in the conversation.

Daisy requested payment in USD Coin (USDC), a form of cryptocurrency. When asked if payment could be performed with Bitcoin, Daisy instructed to convert the Bitcoin into USDC. Following this, Daisy requested a screenshot of the students registration, after which a crypto wallet address was sent for payment. A blockchain search showed that the address had never been used. Cryptocurrencies are difficult for law enforcement and other investigators to trace due to their anonymous nature, according to TRMLabs, a software company specializing in blockchain analysis.

Daisy recommended acquiring cryptocurrency and making the payment as soon as possible, stating that “the sooner you send, the more time you have for preparation work.”

Screenshot of cryptocurrency account, with censored account numbers.

Examinator

The Examinator website itself contains a screenshot of a 2016 article from the Atlantic about proxy test takers titled “How Sophisticated Test Scams From China Are Making Their Way Into the U.S.” The article mentions a “moonbead.com” that sold test cheating and proxy testing services. As of the time of writing, this domain redirects to examinator.cc. Additionally, the broker for moonbead.com and examinator.cc are both named “Daisy” as mentioned in the Atlantic article. The same article also mentions a second domain name, tuofuzhukao.com (translated: TOEFL Exam Assistance) which redirects to the Chinese language Examinator.co counterpart site.

Screenshot from examinator.cc

“Business Trips”

The front page of the Examinator website displays three locations, each containing a laptop with the examinator.cc website open. By comparing details in these images to publicly available Google Street View imagery, The Octagon was able to pinpoint where these pictures were taken. Similar images could not be found using reverse image search tools, which suggests that they were taken by the individuals behind Examinator.

Image one (left), image two (center) and image three (left)

Image one was taken in Hong Kong, near the location of the image 2. Based on visible buildings in the background, the location of the image is determined to be taken in Statue Square. The GPS coordinates for this image are approximately 22.280856, 114.159919. The same photo can be found on a Telegram story posted by “Daisy” accompanied with the caption “Currently on a biz trip, will respond ASAP!”

Annotated comparison between source imagery (left) and Google Street View imagery (right)

The location of image two can be confirmed by matching details in the image with satellite imagery and Google Street View data. Using information such as buildings in the foreground and a tree, we can determine that it was taken outside of the HSBC building in Hong Kong, with the GPS coordinates of 22.280823, 114.159233.

Annotated comparison between source imagery (left) and Google Street View imagery (right)

 Image 3 was also posted in a Telegram channel dedicated to Examinator, with the caption “On an overseas business trip rn, messaging may be sporadic.” The color scheme of the tram visible in the background is consistent with the Sydney Light Rail. The image was taken along George St. in Sydney, Australia, with the approximate GPS coordinates of -33.8747386, 151.2063111.

Similar details such as windows in the background (red), facade of a brick building (green), decorative window etching (pink) and chairs (yellow) confirm the location.

Promotional Video

Examinator.cc also hosts a video of a woman advertising the services of Examinator. The video does not explicitly talk about cheating services, but promotes the site as a test assistance site. A reverse facial software search conducted on Pimeyes found other instances of the woman’s face, and was traced back to a Fiverr content creator called Ariel Marie. When contacted on Fiverr, she claimed that the video was AI generated. When questioned on certain details such as the infinite mirror effect created by the reflection of two phone screens at 0:05, which may be difficult to replicate using AI tools, Marie did not respond to further requests for comment.

Reflections of lights (red), a chair (green), a doorframe (purple) and furniture leg (pink) are visible at 0:05. The Examinator logo is shown on the phone screen.

Analyzing methods used by Examinator

A Telegram video posted on June 1, 2024 shows cheating on the Digital SAT, accompanied with the caption “June 2024 Digital SAT in session.” In this video, a notification from Splashtop Inc. is visible. Splashtop is a software which allows users to remotely control another computer.

Screenshot from Telegram account owned by Examinator

On the Examinator website, a series of text message exchanges published on April 15, 2022 shows a payment made using Alipay for cheating services on the GRE. The final image in this chain contains a screenshot of an Alipay receipt which contains a partial account number for the payee: 185******56. A partial name is also shown, “*君刚” (Jun Gang), missing the surname. Additional images show payment taken using either Wechat Pay, Alipay or cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Bitcoin and Tether.

Cropped image of the payment receipt

Further research by The Octagon found several domains linked to Examinator dedicated to different countries, each in their corresponding languages, such as French, German and Korean.

In the United States, the act of cheating on standardized exams is not necessarily a crime. However, those taking tests for others have been charged for crimes such as mail fraud and wire fraud, such as a 2015 case involving fifteen individuals who took standardized exams for clients. Most schools, including Sacramento Country Day implement strict punishments for academic dishonesty, which may include suspension and expulsion. The College Board, which administers multiple standardized exams states that it “will prohibit individuals from taking the SAT, AP, or CLEP exams when we conclude they’ve deliberately gained or attempted to gain or share an unfair advantage on any College Board test, or otherwise threatened the integrity of the test.”

The Atlantic previously reported that Moonbead.com, a test cheating site currently owned by Examinator contained threatening messages: “We can report your cheating … this will be your scar and scandal for your whole lifetime” and that it had “all your personal and private information … Don’t win the battle but lose the war.”

– Ryan Xu