Varsity Blues Scandal: Outcomes in the College Admissions Case

3 years ago 285

Dozens of parents and others person pleaded guilty. Here’s what happened to a fewer of them.

William Singer, an admissions advisor   astatine  the halfway  of the scandal, pleaded blameworthy  to racketeering and has cooperated with investigators. 
Credit...Katherine Taylor for The New York Times

Oct. 9, 2021, 3:26 p.m. ET

The archetypal 2 radical to basal proceedings successful the assemblage admissions bribery ungraded were recovered blameworthy connected Friday. But the 2 defendants, Gamal Abdelaziz, a erstwhile casino executive, and John Wilson, a backstage equity investor, some parents, joined a database of dozens of figures who person received judgments done plea agreements successful the lawsuit that national investigators telephone Operation Varsity Blues.

The probe into the admissions scheme, successful which parents funneled millions of dollars done William Singer, a backstage admissions counselor, to summation their children’s chances of getting into universities similar the University of Southern California, Yale, Stanford and Georgetown, has besides progressive coaches, exam administrators and others.

Of the 57 defendants who person been charged, 47 person pleaded blameworthy oregon person agreed to bash truthful since the indictments were announced successful March 2019. Some parents are scheduled to spell connected proceedings successful 2022. Here’s what has happened to immoderate of the notable defendants truthful far.

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Credit...Josh Reynolds/Associated Press

Gamal Abdelaziz faces up to 20 years successful situation aft helium was recovered blameworthy Friday of conspiracy to perpetrate bribery and fraud, though experts accidental that nether sentencing guidelines, helium is much apt to get little than 3 years. Mr. Abdelaziz was accused of paying $300,000 successful 2018 to summation his daughter’s admittance into U.S.C. arsenic a hoops recruit. She did not marque the precocious schoolhouse varsity team.

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Credit...Josh Reynolds/Associated Press

John Wilson was besides convicted connected charges of conspiracy to perpetrate bribery and fraud, and was recovered blameworthy of filing a mendacious taxation instrumentality for taking a deduction for a bribe. He faces up to 20 years successful situation but volition apt person little than five, according to experts. Mr. Wilson was accused of paying $220,000 successful 2014 to get his lad admitted to U.S.C. arsenic a h2o polo recruit, contempt the information that helium was not bully capable to vie astatine the university, according to prosecutors.

William Singer, the admissions advisor astatine the bosom of the scandal, pleaded guilty to racketeering and different charges successful 2019 aft having cooperated with national investigators since September 2018. He has not been sentenced. Mr. Singer faces jailhouse clip and fines for assorted crimes committed successful the process of operating what helium called a “side door” into universities for his clients.

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Credit...Katherine Taylor for The New York Times

Lori Loughlin, the histrion known for her relation successful the sitcom “Full House,” was sentenced to 2 months successful situation and was fined $150,000 aft pleading blameworthy to conspiracy to perpetrate fraud on with her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, a manner designer. Mr. Giannulli was sentenced to 5 months successful situation and received a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors said the mates paid $500,000 to person their children admitted to U.S.C. arsenic rowers. Ms. Loughlin’s downfall was swift: She resigned from her state nine and was fto spell from her relation connected the Hallmark Channel bid “When Calls the Heart.” Last month, it was announced that Ms. Loughlin would instrumentality to that relation connected the drama’s spinoff, according to Variety.

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Credit...Jenna Garrett for The New York Times

John Vandemoer, who coached sailing astatine Stanford for 11 years, was among the archetypal to instrumentality a plea woody connected racketeering charges. Prosecutors said helium passed checks from Mr. Singer to Stanford improvement officers adding up to $770,000. Mr. Vandemoer served 1 time successful jailhouse and six months of location arrest. He besides mislaid his occupation astatine Stanford and his family’s university-subsidized housing. But helium has since recovered a caller career: Mr. Vandemoer, who has a geology degree, precocious began a occupation astatine a h2o engineering steadfast that builds drinking h2o systems.

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Credit...Scott Eisen for The New York Times

Felicity Huffman, the award-winning histrion and a prima of “Desperate Housewives,” served 11 days astatine a ​​minimum-security situation campy extracurricular San Francisco successful 2019 for fraud charges aft she admitted to paying $15,000 to cheat connected her daughter’s SAT exam. Ms. Huffman is acceptable to play the pb successful an ABC drama astir insignificant league baseball, according to news reports.

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Credit...Katherine Taylor/Reuters

Douglas Hodge, a erstwhile main enforcement of the concern absorption steadfast Pimco, received the harshest condemnation of immoderate genitor progressive successful the case: 9 months successful situation and a $750,000 fine. Most of the parents charged successful the ungraded were recovered to person paid bribes oregon committed fraud to get 1 oregon 2 children into college. But Mr. Hodge exploited the scam further and implicit a longer play of time, prosecutors said, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get astatine slightest 4 of his 7 children into top-tier schools, and was trying to bash the aforesaid with his 5th child.

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