Elite NYC Prep School Horace Mann Accused Of Letting Tech Honcho Buy Kids Admission For $1M: Lawsuit

Horace Mann's exclusive New York City preschool allowed a wealthy tech executive to buy $1 million worth of admission tickets for his kids, according to a new lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, Qi Tom Chen, president of software company Lake 5 Media, is accused of running a pay-to-play scheme to get a firm "promise" of special treatment for his children at a Bronx high school. whore. costume.

Chen has also been accused of tax fraud, and in 2018 Chen hired a private school admissions consultant who allegedly set up a meeting with the principal to resolve the dispute.

“As a result of this meeting, Mr. Chen promised Horace Mann $1 million in exchange for preferential treatment for his children,” according to a lawsuit filed by Daniel Hayward, a former Lake 5 Media executive.

Hoyard accused Chen of years of tax fraud in a 2020 lawsuit filed in May, arguing that entry fees should have been reported to the IRS as taxable "non-business income."

"Parents like Mr. Chen routinely claim entry fees as tax-free charitable donations," the lawsuit says.

"Horace Mann does not refer to this money as 'non-business income', although it does nothing but raise funds to further Horace Mann's educational goals."

© Contributed by New York Post A high school principal makes a deal with a wealthy tech mogul. Horace Mann-Media Gallery

The hyperselective high school's tuition is about $60,000 a year, according to its website, and its kindergarten acceptance rate is just 10 percent.

Eric Rosen, the former U.S. attorney who handled the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, said the charges against Chen and Horace Mann likely depend on how open the alleged collusion between Chen and the school is.

According to him, it is not illegal to simply offer or hope that the donation will be successful.

Hayward also accuses Chen of falsely reporting that he paid $500,000 in "rent" to a company called CTBS Everblue LLC, when in fact he used the company to buy $22,000 worth of wine for himself and art lessons for their children.

If Hayward proves that Chen, his companies, or Horace Mann cheated on taxes, he could get some of the taxes paid to the state.

"The school never paid for the gifts," Horace Mann spokesman Ed Adler said.

A spokesperson for the school did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment on Friday.

Chen's lawyer Steve Mintz and Heybloom's lawyer David Abrams also did not return calls.

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