The exclusive New York City prep school Horace Mann allegedly let a wealthy tech honcho buy his kids’ admission for $1 million, a new lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit accuses Qi Tom Chen, president of the software firm Lake 5 Media, of a pay-to-play scheme in which he traded the hefty “pledge” for his children’s special treatment at the Bronx school, according to the New York Supreme Court suit.

Chen hired a private school admissions consultant who, in 2018, set up a meeting where the alleged deal was struck with the school’s headmaster, according to the suit, which also accuses Chen of tax fraud.

“As a result of that meeting, Mr. Chen made a million dollar pledge to Horace Mann in exchange for preferential admissions treatment for his children,” according to the lawsuit, filed by former Lake 5 Media assistant Daniel Hayward.

Hawyard also accuses Chen of cheating on his taxes for years — claiming that the admissions placement payments should have been reported to the IRS as taxable “unrelated business income,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in 2020 and unsealed in May.

“Parents such as Mr. Chen generally claim their admissions bribes as tax deductible charitable donations,” the suit states.

“Horace Mann does not claim these monies as “unrelated business income” even though they do nothing to advance the educational purpose of Horace Mann apart from raising funds.”

The hyper-selective prep school’s tuition costs nearly $60,000 annually, according to its website, and has a mere 10 percent acceptance rate for kindergarteners.

Eric Rosen, a former federal prosecutor who worked on the “Varsity Blues” college admission scandal cases, said the allegations against Chen and Horace Mann likely hinge on how explicit the purported deal was between Chen and the school, Insider reported.

Simply hinting at or hoping that a donation will result in a favor isn’t illegal, he said.

Hayward also accuses Chen of falsely reporting that he paid $500,000 in “rent” to a company called CTBS Everblue LLC — when he in fact used the firm to buy $22,000 in wine for himself and art lessons for his kids.

If Hayward proves that Chen, his companies or Horace Mann cheated on their taxes, he would stand to collect a share of any back taxes paid to the state.

“There has never been a quid pro quo for gifts at the school,” Horace Mann spokesman Ed Adler told Insider.

A rep for the school didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment Friday.

Steve Mintz, a lawyer for Chen, and Hayblum’s attorney, David Abrams, also didn’t return calls.