There’s a brand new bust — and a brand new wrinkle — within the college admissions scandal.
One other dad will plead guilty to bribing his kid’s approach into Georgetown College, federal authorities stated Tuesday — however he didn’t go about it the identical approach as different well-heeled dad and mom within the sprawling Varsity Blues case.
Pennsylvania father Robert Repella, 61, instantly paid the college’s tennis coach greater than $50,000 to safe his daughter’s place — and wasn’t concerned with crooked college fixer Rick Singer, who acted because the intermediary for different dad and mom within the case, resembling actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, prosecutors stated.
Repella paid then-coach Gordon Ernst in 2017 in two separate checks of $25,000 every, court docket paperwork allege.
Ernst then despatched an e-mail to the college admissions itemizing Repella’s daughter as considered one of his recruits and asking them to ship a “doubtless letter” to the woman.
Repella’s daughter — who was not named within the court docket paperwork — later obtained a letter from the college saying she had a higher than 90 p.c likelihood of being accepted to Georgetown. She was formally accepted to the college within the spring of 2018.
Repella will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and sincere companies mail fraud, in accordance to federal prosecutors in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors have advisable he spend 10 months in jail and pay a $40,000 advantageous for his function within the scheme.
The feds have alleged that Ernst — who as soon as taught former first girl Michelle Obama and her daughters, Malia and Sasha — was “essentially the most prolific of all of the coaches” busted within the scheme, personally pocketing extra that $2.7 million for bringing no less than 12 college students on as bogus tennis recruits.
He has pleaded not guilty to a slew of expenses, together with conspiracy to commit racketeering and aiding and abetting cash laundering.
Final week, 55-year-old Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to bribing their daughters’ approach into the College of Southern California as crew recruits.
The previous “Full Home” star agreed to serve two months in jail, pay a $150,000 advantageous and carry out 100 hours of group service in alternate for pleading guilty to one depend of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
“Determined Housewives” star Huffman additionally pleaded guilty to expenses and served 11 days of a two-week sentence in October.
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