14 Defendants in College Admissions Scandal to Plead Guilty | USAO-... https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/14-defendants-college-admissions-s... SEARCH HOME ABOUT DIVISIONS NEWS OUTREACH & INITIATIVES RESOURCES CAREERS CONTACT U.S. Attorneys » District of Massachusetts » News Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 8, 2019 14 Defendants in College Admissions Scandal to Plead Guilty 13 parents and one university athletic coach have agreed to plead guilty to charges of mail fraud and honest services mail fraud BOSTON – Thirteen parents charged in the college admissions scandal will plead guilty to using bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities. One coach also agreed to plead guilty. The defendants were arrested last month and charged with conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, 58, of Newport Beach, Calif., and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of students to colleges and universities. The conspiracy involved bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to allow a test taker to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students, or to correct the students’ answers after they had taken the exam, and bribing university athletic coaches and administrators to facilitate the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits. The following defendants were charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and have agreed to plead guilty pursuant to plea agreements: 1. Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, N.Y., together with his wife, Marcia, agreed to pay Singer $125,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter; 2. Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y.; 3. Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $50,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son; 4. Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Conn., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter; 5. Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter; 6. Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer at least $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her oldest daughter; 7. Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to participate in both 1 of 3 14 Defendants in College Admissions Scandal to Plead Guilty | USAO-... https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/14-defendants-college-admissions-s... the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter; 8. Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son; 9. Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter; 10. Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $400,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son; and 11. Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $250,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son. In addition, Bruce Isackson, 61, and Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, Calif., were charged in a separate Information and have both agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson will also plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. The Isacksons agreed to pay Singer an amount, ultimately totaling $600,000, to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their younger daughter and the college recruitment scheme for both of their daughters. The Isacksons also underpaid their federal income taxes by deducting the bribe payments as purported charitable contributions. The Isacksons are cooperating with the government’s investigation. Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, was charged in a third Information and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. In 2015, Center personally accepted $60,000 in cash from Singer, as well as $40,000 directed to the University of Texas tennis program, in exchange for designating the child of one of Singer’s clients as a tennis recruit, thereby facilitating his admission to the University of Texas. All of the defendants who improperly took tax deductions for the bribe payments have agreed to cooperate with the IRS to pay back taxes. Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the Court. Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao- ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme. The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, and Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the cases. Attachment(s): Download Caplan_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download Download Center_Plea_Agreement.pdf B_Iasckson_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf Download Download B_Isackson_Plea_Agreement.pdf D_Isackson_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf Download Buckingham_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download D_Isackson_Plea_Agreement.pdf 2 of 3 14 Defendants in College Admissions Scandal to Plead Guilty | USAO-... https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/14-defendants-college-admissions-s... Download Flaxman_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download Center_Affidavit.pdf Download G_Abbott_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download Isackson_Affidavit.pdf Download Huffman_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download Parents_Affidavit.pdf Download Huneeus_Plea_Agreement.pdf Download Klapper_Plea_Agreement.pdf Topic(s): Download M_Abbott_Plea_Agreement.pdf Financial Fraud Download Sartorio_Plea_Agreement.pdf Tax Download Semprevivo_Plea_Agreement.pdf Component(s): Download Sloane_Plea_Agreement.pdf USAO - Massachusetts Updated April 8, 2019 3 of 3 Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-t... SEARCH HOME ABOUT DIVISIONS NEWS OUTREACH & INITIATIVES RESOURCES CAREERS CONTACT U.S. Attorneys » District of Massachusetts Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme Dozens of individuals allegedly involved in a nationwide conspiracy that facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits were arrested by federal agents in multiple states and charged in documents unsealed on March 12, 2019, in federal court in Boston. Athletic coaches from Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest and Georgetown, among others, are implicated, as well as parents and exam administrators. Individuals who have questions or inquiries about this case may send an email to the following address: [email protected] Below is a list of the defendants. The charging documents are attached at the bottom of this page. Charged by Information Defendant Charges Case Status Sentencing 10/23/2019 at 2:00 pm – Telephone Conference Government with J. Zobel Recommendation Racketeering conspiracy; pursuant to the plea William Rick SINGER money laundering 3/12/2019 - The agreement: incarceration conspiracy; conspiracy to defendant pled guilty and at the low end of the 19-CR-10078- RWZ defraud US; obstruction agreed to cooperate with Guidelines sentencing of justice the government's range, three years of investigation. The supervised release, a fine defendant has been and forfeiture released on conditions. 3/28/2019 - The Government defendant pled guilty and Recommendation Rudolph “Rudy” Conspiracy to commit agreed to cooperate with pursuant to the plea MEREDITH wire fraud and honest the government's agreement: incarceration services wire fraud; 19-CR-10075- MLW investigation. The at the low end of the honest services wire fraud defendant has been Guidelines sentencing range, three years of released on conditions. 1 of 14 Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-t... There is no sentencing