Former Harvard Fencing Coach Allegedly Took $1.5 Million Bribe

A former Harvard fencing coach was arrested and charged with bribery on Monday for allegedly accepting $1.5 million from a businessman in exchange for recruiting his two sons to the fencing team, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, which is known for handling the 2019 college admissions scandal known as “Operation Varsity Blues.”

Peter Brand coaches at the Division I Women’s Fencing Championship at Cleveland State University on … [+] March 24, 2019.

Key Facts

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Peter Brand and the father, Jie “Jack” Zhao, were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, which is punishable for up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

Prosecutors allege that in 2012 Brand told an unnamed co-conspirator to tell Zhao he would only need a “good incentive” to recruit the sons who were accepted to Harvard as fencing recruits in 2013 and 2016. 

Prosecutors say Zhao, the CEO of a telecommunications company, made payments to Brand totaling $1.5 million, including college tuition for Brand’s son, paying his home mortgage, purchasing Brand’s home above market value and renovating his new, more expensive home. 

Brand did not report the payments to Harvard when he recruited the sons, according to the prosecutors. 

Brand’s attorney, David Brooks, declined to comment.

Zhao’s attorney, William Weinreb, told Forbes Zhao’s children were accepted to Harvard because of their academic and athletic skills, they both fenced on the Division One level at Harvard and that Zhao denies the charges. 

The scrutiny of Brand and Zhao’s relationship started in April 2019 when The Boston Globe reported Zhao bought Brand’s home in 2016 and his son subsequently got accepted to Harvard, noting it sold for nearly double the tax assessment and that Zhao never lived there. Zhao told The Boston Globe he bought the house as an investment property and favor, but said he didn’t do it to secure his son’s admission to Harvard. The report led Harvard to launch an independent investigation into the sale of Brand’s home and the Ivy League university fired him in July 2019. Harvard’s Athletics Director Robert L. Scalise reportedly said that the investigation found Brand violated the university’s conflict of interest policy, according to an email to staff obtained by The Harvard Crimson. 

Key Background

U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling said in a statement Monday that his office will continue its effort to “expose and deter corruption in college admissions.” In March 2019, the office announced that 50 people were arrested and charged for their involvement in the college admissions scheme which implicated elite schools, including Georgetown, Yale and Stanford. The U.S. Attorney’s office said the scandal involved falsifying standardized test scores and falsely admitting students as athletic recruits. Harvard was not associated with the scandal in 2019.