David M. Perry is a journalist and historian. He's the senior academic adviser to the history department at the University of Minnesota. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed here are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN.

(CNN) "We're not talking about donating a building, we're talking about fraud," said Andrew Lelling, the US Attorney for Massachusetts, as he announced indictments in a massive scheme alleging that celebrities and other wealthy individuals used cheating, bribes, and lies to get their kids into elite colleges.

David M. Perry

The behavior described in this alleged fraud should be punished. But on a broader and more basic level, the case also sheds light on deep inequities in our college admissions system. Because if someone can get their kid into Harvard by buying a building, let alone by committing any of the alleged acts emerging from this case, the scandal isn't just what's illegal, but what's legal as well.

The accusations are shocking enough. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, among dozens of other wealthy (if not necessarily famous) parents, allegedly participated in two kinds of schemes, one based on cheating on tests, the other on faking talent at sports.

When it came to athletics, the clients paid William Rick Singer, who ran both for-profit and (allegedly fraudulent) not-for-profit educational consulting firms and is now a cooperating witness, to create fake portfolios of high school athletic achievement, then either persuaded or bribed coaches to improve the odds of admission for the student as a potential recruit.

CNN has reached out to multiple defendants for comment. Yale, Wake Forest, UCLA, USC, the University of Texas and Georgetown have released statements ranging from identifying themselves as victims of the alleged criminal schemes to in some cases announcing internal investigations and firings. Singer entered a guilty plea on Tuesday and his attorney told media his client was "very remorseful."