Sam Eshaghoff most likely wasn’t expecting to go to jail for taking the SAT’s. It’s arguable that he was, however, asking for it when he took the exam for

six New York high schoolers.

The exact amount of money Eshaghoff was paid is estimated at upwards of $5,000. Over a two-year period, he took the exam at least six separate times and received scores within three hundred points of perfect each time. The only reason that Eshaghoff was caught at all was because of how well he actually did. It is conceivable that if he had not scored so high, the six people he cheated for, as well as himself, would not have ever been arrested.

When officials at the Long Island high school the students went to saw how high their SAT scores were, they were amazed. There were serious inconsistencies with the students’ grades and the scores they “earned” on the SAT’s. A rumor was going around Great Neck North High School about whom to pay if you didn’t want to take the test yourself, and when the school officials heard about it, they figured the two events must be related.

This revelation sparked a police investigation that led to seven arrests. Four of these arrests were students in college, having been accepted to the schools they applied to with the fraudulent scores. Two more were currently seniors at Great Neck North, and the last of the seven was Eshaghoff himself. It is unclear at this point whether Eshaghoff took the test for any other students; none have come forward yet. Aside from the criminal charges, the four college students as well as Eshaghoff will almost certainly be permanently dismissed from their schools. The two high school students will most likely also be expelled.

Now, security at standardized tests around the country is being increased at an alarming rate. It is still being questioned as to whether the Long Island cheating ring involved more students that have yet to be caught. Other school districts nationwide are also expected to launch their own investigations, now that there has been a precedent.