Authorities mistake student-led non-profit for mafia front

Rockville, Maryland – This past week, federal authorities thought they uncovered what appeared to be a money laundering scheme for the mafia disguised as the non-profit Discovering Individual Volitions with Experimental Research and Sincere Training for Youth (DIVERSTY). To their shock, what the FBI’s financial analysts thought was a poorly disguised tax evasion front is actually the creation of yet another group of lawless youth–or as the Montgomery County police chief called them, “college applicants”. 

DIVERSTY was founded in late 2023 with the unveiling of an Instagram account which has since blossomed to a total 87 followers and 11 posts. On their Wix site, which features links to two Google Forms–a sign-up and a donation–DIVERSTY self-describes as “an effort by local students to create an equitable environment for underprivileged and marginalized communities by synergizing modern artificial intelligence capabilities and prioritizing the critical lens.” DIVERSTY’s website also has a page to contact the founders, but the investigation has halted since the email addresses are a strange randomization of numbers ending in ‘mcpsmd.net’, appearing to lead nowhere at all.

Investigators were first tipped off by an anonymous caller, who pointed out some similarities with a few other non-profits in the area. These other organizations appear to be legitimate; the caller, who we have tracked down as a student at Montgomery Blair High School, made the observation that every other competing non-profit mentioned their “dedication to transparency” in their self-descriptions, which DIVERSTY failed to do. 

Speaking at a press conference, the Montgomery County police chief declined to disclose information about current suspects. However, an FBI spokesperson stated that they were “encouraged by the following list of the suspicious Instagram account and the network of fraudulent extracurriculars,” adding that “all roads appear to lead back to Richard Montgomery High School.” 

While the search for the perpetrators has otherwise stalled for the moment, authorities encourage the public to remain calm yet vigilant. “Parents should search their child’s computer for a college list spreadsheet,” said the police chief in a statement on X. “If you see more than one Institute of Technology, please call in a tip.”