Group Offers $10K To Root Out UT-Austin Admissions Cheaters

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Mysterious fliers purported to be from a group calling itself "Government Crime Stoppers" appeared outside homes near the UT-Austin campus last week, offering $10,000 rewards for anyone found to have cheated or bribed their way through the admissions process.

The notices come in the wake of a growing scandal involving universities across the country found to have admitted unqualified students in exchange for bribes and kickbacks. The University of Texas at Austin was ensnared in the scandal after allegations surfaced the head of the men's tennis program allegedly accepted kickbacks to have a student admitted to the school despite an inability to play the sport.

"$10,000 Reward," fliers from the group calling itself Government Crime Stoppers reads in large, white font against a red backdrop. "Have information about admissions fraud or bribery at UT?" it asks before a paragraph explaining the ongoing scandal. "To restore integrity in the admissions process and avoid the potential loss of federal student loans and Pell grants, cheating must be stopped."

And then, the pitch: "If you have information that could lead to the arrest of a faculty member, administrator, parent student or public official, submit an anonymous tip now at GovernmentCrimeStoppers.org to be eligible for a reward."

Patch reached out to Government Crime Stoppers (GCS) via a toll-free telephone number printed on the flier, securing more details on the group from Patricia Martinez via email. Martinez is the group's executive director of operations.

"Government Crime Stoppers (GCS) was launched in 2017 in Austin, TX, to support law enforcement in fighting crime within the public domain in Texas," she wrote. "The first Crime Stoppers was pioneered in Albuquerque, NM, in 1976 to fight street crime, and this breakthrough program expanded across the USA and beyond. Now, GCS applies this same formula for generating anonymous tips to fight crimes involving official and public misconduct."

She added that GCS fields anonymous tips on a daily basis related to allegations of wrongdoing within the public sector in Texas, directing those tips to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. "These tips assist law enforcement in opening and conducting investigations into potential criminal activity that otherwise might go undetected," Martinez wrote.

The complexity crime within the government sector (UT-Austin is partially funded by the state) makes them difficult to prosecute, she added, serving as further resolve to generate substantive information on wrongdoing from tipsters: "Government-related crime is particularly difficult for law enforcement to substantiate and prosecute, and GCS strives to supplement the flow of actionable information available to them. GCS monitors their progress and stands by to issue rewards for tips that lead to arrests and convictions."

GCS places a premium on granting anonymity to tipsters to ensure a flow of tips, Martinez noted. "Good Samaritans must feel protected from reprisal from criminals in order to step forward," she wrote to Patch in an April 6 email. "This is particularly true with government-related crime in which bad actors often wield substantial power. GCS therefore strictly protects the anonymity not only of tipsters but also financial supporters who make our work possible. GCS continuously invites more financial supporters to join us in ramping up our efforts to support the law enforcement community."

In addition to tips related to specific crimes, GCS also welcomes suggestions for tip rewards to generate leads on credible allegations, she added. GCS monitors for specific tip reward opportunities and posts them to their website.

Here are descriptions of each of the Government Crime Stoppers principals:

• Patricia Martinez, executive director of operations: Patricia Martinez is a retired 34-year law enforcement veteran of the San Antonio Police Department. A native of the city she joined the department in 1982 and worked as she earned a bachelors degree from Texas State University. She was the department’s Crime Stoppers coordinator from 1988 to 1992. After her promotion to Detective, Mrs. Martinez garnered a spot in the Night Detectives Unit where she remained until her retirement in 2016.
• Louis Martinez, deputy director of operations: Louis Martinez has 38 years of law enforcement experience. He was born and raised in San Antonio and joined the San Antonio Police Department in 1974. Shortly after joining the department he spent two years undercover in Narcotics where he is credited with 289 indictments, which was followed by a year and a half with DEA on special assignment. After returning to SAPD, Mr. Martinez became integral to the SWAT program while training various other agencies’ SWAT teams across the state. He later became a Night CID Detective in 1993. In 2005 Mr. Martinez retired from SAPD to become a Lieutenant in the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office serving over both CID and Patrol. He remained at KCSO until he retired from law enforcement in 2013.
• Richard W. Carter, adviser: Judge Richard W. Carter (Ret.) is a former judge of the Arlington Municipal Court and is the Director of Legal Services for Crime Stoppers of the United States of America, Inc. After graduating from Texas Tech University’s School of Law in 1973, Carter received training at the FBI Academy and went on to become Police Legal Advisor of the Waco Police Department, the Chair of the Legal Officers Section of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Chair of the Municipal Judges Section of the State Bar of Texas. Richard also served two terms as Chair of the Texas Crime Stoppers Advisory Council in the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor’s Office.
• Kevin Anderson, adviser: Kevin Anderson has owned and operated Anderson Software, LLC for the past 30 years and has developed several industry-leading software and web applications. As a three-time Presidential Award winner for his excellent crime-fighting applications, Kevin developed his first tip management application in 1998 which was used by virtually all Crime Stoppers programs in North America.

Patch left messages on Friday to a state government spokesman and his counterpart at the Austin Police Department for a reaction, and both said they would look into the matter. Stephen Chang, a spokesman for the governor's office, verified the legitimacy of GCS which he described as a "...national non-profit and legitimate organization, which has a branch in Texas." However, Chang stressed GCS is not affiliated with Texas Crime Stoppers, which is a function of the governor's office.

UT-Austin officials have been transparent in previously confirming the school was being investigated as part of a broader federal probe into admissions fraud. This follows accusations by investigators that the school's former men's tennis teach head coach was found to have allegedly accepted kickbacks to get a student enrolled on athletic merits even even though the student didn't play tennis.

Once the alleged scheme was exposed, UT-Austin quickly fired the coach, despite his having had an 18-season winning streak in tennis competition at his coaching helm. "The university received a letter from the Department of Education about a preliminary investigation, and is working with the department to respond to their questions regarding admissions while we conduct our own internal review," UT-Austin officials wrote in a public notice.

Related stories:

UT Austin Tennis Coach Ensnared In College Cheating Scheme

UT-Austin Men's Tennis Coach Fired Amid Scandal

UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves sought to assuage concerns in a March 13 letter to the Longhorns community when the scandal first broke: "As many of you know, criminal charges were filed yesterday against a number of staff members and coaches at eight universities for alleged bribery and admissions fraud," he explained. "One University of Texas employee — Men’s Tennis Coach Michael Center — was charged as part of an extensive federal investigation.

"We take the criminal allegations against Michael Center very seriously and, as of today, he has been terminated as a UT employee. I have asked Vice President for Legal Affairs Jim Davis to conduct a thorough review of the alleged 2015 fraud that Mr. Center has been charged with, and to determine whether the university has the necessary rules and procedures in place to prevent violations in the future."

Flier left outside Patch headquarters off Guadalupe Street on April 5, not far from the UT-Austin campus. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.