College Entrance Scam Defendants Due In Court To Face Charges
Up to a dozen people are due in court Monday to face felony charges after being accused in participating in a college admissions fraud scheme that ensnarled college coaches, company executives and Hollywood actresses.
According to Reuters, Georgetown's former tennis coach Gordon Ernst and UCLA former men’s soccer head coach Jorge Salcedo are expected to plead not guilty at Boston's Moakley Federal Courthouse on Monday to racketeering charges after authorities say 50 people paid as much as $25 million over an eight-year period to get their children into college by faking athletic achievements, test scores, and bribing officials.
Also due in court is Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director at USC who was fired after being indicted on a racketeering conspiracy.
Heinel is accused of receiving payments of $20,000 per month in exchange for her assistance in securing the admission of several individuals, even though they didn't play those sports.
According to court documents, the mastermind behind the scheme, William “Rick” Singer, paid Ernst almost $3 million in bribes to help secure admission for fake tennis recruits.
Singer is charged with racketeering conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Singer was the frontrunner of a conspiracy that secured admissions at high-profile schools such as Yale, Georgetown, Stanford, USC and Wake Forest.
Prosecutors charged 33 parents, 13 coaches and other Singer associates in what is the biggest college admission fraud scheme in history.
Others accused, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin are due in court on April 3.
