Operation Varsity Blues

A former Georgetown University tennis coach has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for pocketing more than $3 million in bribes in exchange for helping wealthy parents cheat their kids’ way into the school. The sentence for Gordon Ernst is by far the toughest punishment handed down so far in the sprawling college admissions bribery scandal that shined...

A former assistant soccer coach at the University of Southern California who created fake athletic profiles for the children of wealthy parents in the sprawling college admissions bribery scheme avoided prison time Tuesday after helping convict others in the case. Laura Janke, who helped the mastermind of the scheme get students into elite schools as bogus athletics recruits, was sentenced…

A Massachusetts business executive who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in the sprawling college admissions cheating scandal appealed his conviction on Monday, arguing that he believed he was making legitimate donations to get his three children into elite universities. John Wilson, 62, was convicted on a range of fraud and bribery charges after a jury trial last year….

A former Florida prep school administrator has been sentenced to prison and a University of Southern California water polo coach has been convicted in the long running college admissions bribery scandal. Mark Riddell was sentenced to four months in federal prison while former USC coach Jovan Vavic was convicted of fraud and bribery counts Friday in Boston federal court. Riddell…

He was among nearly 60 people charged in an investigation dubbed ‘Operation Varsity Blues’ that also ensnared athletic coaches at Georgetown, Yale and other prestigious schools.

A California couple accused of paying $25,000 to cheat on their son’s college admissions test has abruptly agreed to plead guilty

Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with the college admissions scandal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday morning. Under the terms of the plea deal, Loughlin will serve two months in prison, pay a $150,000 fine and be on supervised release for two years with 100…

A federal judge refused Friday to dismiss charges against actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and other prominent parents accused of cheating the college admissions process, siding with prosecutors who denied that investigators had fabricated evidence. U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton rejected a bid by the defense to throw out the indictment over allegations of misconduct...

A California woman was sentenced Tuesday to seven months in prison for paying bribes to rig her two daughters’ college admissions exams and get one of them into Georgetown University as a fake tennis recruit. In an unusual hearing held via videoconference due to the coronavirus pandemic, the judge rejected Elizabeth Henriquez’s bid to avoid prison because of the...