Long Island test cheating probe nets more arrests

Some students allegedly paid to have others take the SAT for them

Nov. 22, 2011

2 min read

From The New York Times: Ten students accused of cheating on the SAT have turned themselves in to the authorities in Long Island, N.Y. Three more arrests were expected. Three test takers and seven who the authorities say paid for the test to be taken on their behalf have surrendered to investigators. Among those charged with taking the test for others were Joshua Chefec, 20, now a senior at Tulane University in New Orleans, and Michael Pomerantz, 18, who attended Great Neck North High School; Adam Justin, 19, a graduate of North Shore Hebrew Academy; and George Trane, 19, a graduate of Great Neck South. The arrests are the second wave of students to face charges in the scandal. Test takers are accused of accepting payments of $500 to at least $3,500.

Earlier...from The New York Times: The Nassau County, N.Y., district attorney’s office has broadened its inquiry into suspected cheating on college admissions exams to at least 35 students in five schools, including students believed to have paid for a stand-in to take the ACT, a standardized test that is growing in popularity in the Northeast, as well as the more common SAT.

From SEPTEMBER 2011...from The New York Daily News: Seven teenagers from Long Island, N.Y., face charges in connection with an SAT cheating ring in which a college student charged thousands of dollars to take the exam for the others. Prosecutors say Sam Eshaghoff, 19, a sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta, got between $1,500 and $2,500 each from six current and former Great Neck North High School students for taking the exam in their place.