Oct. 22 (UPI) — Four additional parents and a former tennis academy owner who originally sought to fight charges in connection to a spiraling college admissions scandal have pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.
Former Pimco CEO Douglas Hodge, Michelle Janavs and Manuel Henriquez, the founder of Hercules Capital, and his wife, Elizabeth, have pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said Monday.
Martin Fox, a former president of a private Texas tennis academy, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit racketeering, the prosecutors said.
The charges against the wealthy parents stem from them conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, the owner of a for-profit college entrance company who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in March, to secure admission to prestigious universities for their children through either presenting them as athlete recruits or having their entrance exam scores inflated.
Prosecutors accused Fox of introducing Singer to a University of Texas tennis coach, who arranged for a student to be falsely admitted at the school as a sports recruit in exchange for a bribe. Fox, who was paid $100,000 for the deal, then arranged brides on two similar occasions at the University of San Diego.
A total of 52 people have been charged during the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Operation Varsity Blues, including celebrities Lori Loughlin, her husband Mossimo Giannulli and Felicity Huffman.
Hodge said in a statement that he takes “full and complete responsibility” for the charges.
“I acted out of love for my children,” he said. “But I know that this explanation for my actions is not an excuse.”
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