By Monika Gerges
A large college scandal, named Operation Varsity Blues, exposed parents, coaches and administrators for cheating and buying admissions.
Over 51 people were involved in the college scandal. Read to find out what happened to a seven of them.
- Lori Laughlin
Lori Laughlin pleaded not guilty in her case. She and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli paid $500,000 for their daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose to be entered into University of Southern California (USC) as talented athletes. She is set to have a tougher sentence than fellow actress Felicity Huffman who received a sentence of 14 days in prison.
2. Felicity Huffman
Actress Felicity Huffman paid $15,000 for someone to correct her daughter Sofia Grace Mary’s SAT exam in 2017. On Sept. 13, she was sentenced to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty of conspiracy to mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
3. Gordon Caplan
Gordon Caplan, a lawyer from New York, paid a large sum of money to have someone alter his daughter’s ACT score to make it higher. Caplan was sentenced to one month in prison as well as one year of supervision after release, $50,000 worth of fines and 250 hours of community service.
4. Devin Sloane
Devin Sloane paid more than $250,000 to bribe a coach at USC and staged and photoshopped photos of his son playing water polo to help him get accepted to the college. The businessman got sentenced to four months in prison as well as having to pay a $95,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fraud.
5. Gamal Abdelaziz
Gamal Abdelaziz, a former Las Vegas casino executive was arrested back in March for charges of bribing a university official. He is accused of paying $300,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation to get his daughter to be presented as a talented basketball player in order to be admitted to the USC.
6. Gregory and Marcia Abott
Gregory and Marcia Abott pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and honest services mail fraud for paying $125,000 to adjust their daughter’s college entrance exams results in order for her to get into Duke University. They were recently sentenced to a month in prison each. Maria Abott and Gregory Abbott will pay their time starting Nov. 6 and Jan. 3, respectively.
7. Gordon Ernst
Gordon Ernst, former Georgetown University tennis coach, was accused of taking bribes from parents of college applicants since 2007. He is pleading not guilty. In total, he has at least $2.7 million in bribes from applicants and will get up to 20 years behind bars if he is convicted.
