How investigators looking into a separate case stumbled across the largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted

The tip that triggered the investigation into the largest alleged collegiate entrance scam ever prosecuted came from a financial executive's last-ditch effort to squirm out of the crosshairs of federal authorities, a law enforcement official tells CNN.

The executive, identified by the Wall Street Journal as Morrie Tobin, was being investigated as part of a separate financial fraud case and gave investigators enough information that they were able to identify William Rick Singer as the mastermind of the plot, the official said.

Tobin faced two charges of securities fraud for his role in a pump-and-dump scheme involving the manipulation of stock from two companies he secretly owned. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the stock from both of those companies was artificially inflated for Tobin's own profit.

He told investigators that Rudolph "Rudy" Meredith, the head women's soccer coach at Yale University, had sought a bribe in return for getting his daughter into the Ivy League school, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The coach conspired with Singer to accept bribes in exchange for designating Yale applicants as recruits for the team, according to a court filing. Meredith couldn't be reached for comment.

What followed after that initial tip was a yearlong investigation that culminated with the arrest of Meredith and other coaches; parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin; cogs in the alleged scam, such as Mark Riddell, accused of taking tests for others or fixing scores; and the mastermind of the plot, Singer.

Tobin has not been charged in the college admissions scam case but, the WSJ reports that he is awaiting sentencing in the securities fraud case in which he signed a plea agreement in November.