A Los Angeles executive on Tuesday pleaded guilty in a Boston federal courtroom to shelling out $400,000 in bribes to get his child into Georgetown University.
Stephen Semprevivo is the latest parent to enter a guilty plea in connection with the largest college admissions scandal to ever rock the U.S. higher education system. Nearly a dozen other parents, including “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin of “Full House,” have agreed to plead guilty for their involvement in the scam allegedly masterminded by Rick Singer.
Singer in August 2015 allegedly emailed Semprevivo and his wife, instructing them to reach out to Gordon Ernst, the head coach of the Georgetown University Tennis team, to tell him their son was a tennis star — despite the fact that he did not play competitively, according to a criminal complaint.
The following day, Semprevivo’s son also allegedly emailed Ernst, who has since left Georgetown to coach at University of Rhode Island, a copy of his transcripts and SAT scores. In October, when the student sent in his college application, it also included an essay about the four years of tennis he played in high school and his athletic ability.
“When I walk into a room, people will normally look up and make a comment about my height — I’m 6’5″ — and ask me if I play basketball. With a smile, I nod my head, but also insist that the sport I put my energy most into is tennis,” wrote Semprevivo’s son, according to the complaint.
When the teen received his acceptance letter in April 2016, Singer sent an email to the parents including an invoice of $400,000. Days later, Semprevivo sent a check to Key Worldwide Foundation, a phony charity Singer allegedly used to hide the bribe payments.
Singer, who claimed to have orchestrated 761 “side door” admission deals for the children of well-off families across the country, has already pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, and is cooperating with prosecutors.
According to investigators, he established an elaborate scam that involved paying for people to take tests for the children of his rich clients and then bribing proctors and administrators to look the other way. He’s also been accused of using his sham charity to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars to coaches to pretend incoming students were top athletes.
Prosecutors said in the criminal complaint that between September 2015 and November 2016, Singer paid Ernst $950,000 for his help in getting Semprevivo’s son and two others into Georgetown.
Ernst, along with several other coaches and school administrators, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges.
The former Stanford sailing head coach, John Vandemoer, and Yale women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith, who also accepted bribes in exchange for helping a student gain admission, are among those who have so far pleaded guilty. Mark Riddell, who cheated on SATs and ACTs for the students, has also entered a guilty plea.
Prosecutors are expected to recommend an 18-month sentence for Semprevivo, according to his plea agreement, which is much lower than the 20-year maximum sentence. They also recommended a fine of $95,000, one year of supervision after his release and that he pay an undetermined amount of restitution to pay for Georgetown’s attorney fee as well as forfeiture.
