A young Harvard hopeful who managed to turn his dream of attending the prestigious Ivy League university into a reality two years ago got some potentially devastating news earlier this week. The Boston Globe reports that in Jie 'Jack' Zhao purchased the Massachusetts home of Harvard's fencing coach Peter Brand in 2016 for $989,500, despite the fact that he had never seen the property and its assessed value was $549,300. Zhao also made a donation of $1 million to the National Fencing Foundation of Washington DC in 2013, who in turn gave a $100,000 grant to Brand's charitable fund the following year. That was the year Zhao's older son started at Harvard, but he told The Crimson he had been granted early acceptance in late 2013, with both brothers claiming to have no knowledge of their father's dealings with Brand. That initial donation to the NFF was made however in February 2013, well before the older son even applied to Harvard. The money then went to Beard just three months after the IRS finally granted his foundation tax-exempt status. Wheeling and dealing: Jie 'Jack' Zhou (left) enriched Harvard fencing coach Peter Brand (right) and his charity to the tune of $500,000 in the years before his son was admitted to the school Money pit: Zhou purchased Brand's home (above) in 2016 for $989,500, despite the fact that he had never seen the property and its assessed value was $549,300 Money: He also donated $1 million to the National Fencing Foundation, who in turn gave a $100,000 grant to Brand's charitable foundation (IRS fling above) The purchase of the house and charitable donation may be the least problematic actions however as Harvard opens an investigation into Beard's dealings with Zhao, as the Chinese national told the Globe during a face-to-face meeting that he 'bought airline tickets for seven or eight fencers with frequent flyer miles to go to China with his sons early in each of their Harvard career.' That move could be a very clear violation of NCAA regulations depending on the purpose of the trip and the relationship Zhao's sons had with the other students who accompanied them to Asia. Harvard has already taken down the youngest son's athlete page from their website, but his older brother and Brand are still featured online. Zhao dismissed any sort of plot was behind his decision, stating that he bought the house to help Beard because he hated his lengthy commute to work each day. He also claimed that he never even met Beard until his older son was a member of the fencing team. 'We have a freshman weekend or whatever that we went to the fencing room, sit down, talk with him,' said Zhao. 'The more we talk, I really like this guy.' Parents weekend took place November 6 -7 back in 2014, which was after that $100,000 donation was made to The Peter Brand Foundation. The same IRS form that confirms this donation also lists Zhou at the group's vice president. What's more, the money that went to Brand had to come from Zhou's $1 million donation since the NFF never reported gifts of more than $25,000 in IRS forms for the four years prior. That is the lone outside donation the foundation has ever received, with the ither $29,000 coming from Brand and his wife. Then there is the curious issue of the homes. In addition to paying well beyond the asking price for Brand's home, Zhou also never moved into the property, and 14 months later it was put on the market for $699,000, meaning that Zhou stood to lose almost $300,000 on the home. He also received the home in a Quit Claim Deed, which are traditionally used to transfer property to other family members or in instances of divorce. The home would eventually sell for $665,000 three months later, and a few months after that Zhou's younger son was granted admission to Harvard.All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility