Monterey Financial Services LLC has agreed to pay $930,000 in debt relief and restitution to settle allegations that it was conducting the practice, which is banned in the Bay State and others.
Clients paid fees up to $30,000 as part of the yearslong scheme, an affidavit said. Some applications falsely claimed the clients had been abused by their spouses, prosecutors said.
The university said it was reinstating the admissions requirement, which it had waived in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, for the 2022-23 application cycle.