A local man is among those who have been charged as part of a nationwide college admissions cheating and bribery case.
Director of the West Hollywood College Preparatory School (WHCPS), Igor Dvorskiy, is accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to help students gain admission to prestigious colleges and universities.
WHCPS, which is located in a series of buildings at Hollywood Temple Beth El, currently employs Dvorskiy. Dvorskiy spent the last seven years as director for the school. Prior to his appointment, he spent 10 years as a math, science, physical education and computer teacher at the school.
Rabbi Dr. Norbert Weinberg of Hollywood Temple Beth El told the Journal they have “no affiliation or connection with the school” and said March 14 that WHCPS’ “tenancy is with the Iranian American Jewish Federation” which is the “title holder to the facility.”
Dvorskiy, 52, of Sherman Oaks, is accused of allowing a third party to either take the test for students or replace the answers students had already given. Those results were then allegedly certified by Dvorskiy and sent to either the ACT or SAT College Boards.
According to WHCP’s website, the school “offers students the best ‘cradle-to-college’ education by providing a family like, nurturing academic environment with small class sizes. We chart our students’ progress from early childhood through high school, and our program is responsive to children’s individual strengths and weaknesses.”
The link to the administration page has now been removed from the website.
Dvorskiy is one of a slew of defendants, including “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin and “Desperate Housewives” actor Felicity Huffman.
The scheme was allegedly orchestrated by the Edge College & Career Network established by William Singer,
According to the indictment, “Parents generally paid Singer between $15,000 and $75,000 per test.” The payments were then made as donations to the KWF. Singer also allegedly coached parents in claiming their children had learning disabilities, which meant that ACT Inc. and the College Board would grant students an extended time frame to take the tests.
The fixed applications were then submitted to high profile schools across the country including USC, UCLA, USD, Stanford, Georgetown University, Yale University and Wake Forest University.
ACT responded to the investigation in a statement saying they have and will be fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and other law enforcement units.
“ACT commends the actions taken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts and other law enforcement units to investigate and uncover these unlawful activities by several individuals. We appreciate the efforts of the authorities and the attention that they have brought to the importance of fairness in testing,” the organization said in a statement March 12. “ACT is committed to ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned in school through their hard work. No student should have an unfair advantage over any other.”
The suit is seeking $198,000 from Dvorskiy. WHCPS and Dvorskiy did not return messages from the Journal seeking comment.
Update: This story was updated March 14 to incorporate comments from Hollywood Temple Beth El.
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