Rick Singer, College Admissions Scandal Ringleader, Prosecutors Want Years in Prison

The person who concocted, recruited and ultimately turned on scores of parents who tried bribing their children's way into good colleges is about to get sentenced, and prosecutors say he's the worst of all and should be sentenced to 6 years.

Rick Singer will be formally sentenced next week, and TMZ has obtained a copy of document prosecutors just filed, saying Singer "was the architect of a massive, decades-long scheme to use fraud and bribery to secure admission of high school students to elite colleges and universities across the country."

Prosecutors say Singer profited from the scheme more than anyone and therefore deserves a much harsher sentence than the parents, coaches and others received.

As for comparisons ... more than 50 parents, coaches and associates of Singer's received sentences ranging from probation to 30 months.

Lori Loughlin received 2 months, and Felicity Huffman 14 days.

Prosecutors want an additional 36 months of supervised release, and restitution to the IRS in the amount of $10,668,841. They want millions more in other penalties.

Here's the thing ... 6 years ain't so bad, because the max was 65 years behind bars.

As for why the relatively light sentence ... Singer cooperated and was the key to convicting the parents and others. The docs refer to Singer making hundreds of recorded calls at the government's direction. He wore a wire as well to nail the targets. Prosecutors say if it wasn't for Singer, most of the parents who were convicted would have gotten off.