Did I miss someone passing a law saying cheating on a private exam is criminal?
Might be fun to examine their tax returns knowing that they like to cheat, but arrests for this seems more than a bit silly.
These folk will be charged with criminal conspiracy, tax evasion, mail fraud and other fun stuff.
They were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Did you read about what they were charged with?
Bribes....
Scams for profit are illegal. Arrest them all.
Did I miss someone passing a law saying cheating on a private exam is criminal?
In some cases, yes.
Example - Say you cheated on your exam and because of your higher scores you earn a scholarship based on your score. You defrauded the organization that provides the scholarship (besides preventing someone more deserving the chance to go to college).
As others have posted sometimes it is not the “crime” that gets you but the things done before or after (such as mail fraud or tax evasion)
The courts will decide if cheating is a crime