Article Author:
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty to bribing a Georgetown University tennis coach to send his daughter to school was sentenced to nearly a month of home detention on Thursday. was
Former pharmaceutical executive Robert Lepera pays then-Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst at least $120,000 to name his daughter a tennis recruit at the University of Washington, D.C.
Other parents indicted in sprawling college admissions bribery scandals have been offered coaches and others through intermediaries (admissions consultant Rick Singer). Prosecutors said Lepera arranged a direct deal with Ernst, unlike bribing the
Lepera, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to a year of probation and placed under house arrest until Labor Day. He was also ordered to do 220 hours of community service and pay his $220,000 fine.
Prosecutors were seeking a one-month prison sentence, stating that he "played an active role in the scheme by initiating e-mails and meetings with Ernst." rice field.
Lepera's attorney said in court documents that his client's daughter had the grades and athletic ability to enroll in Georgetown and play tennis there. } Ernst told Repella that if he wanted his daughter to play in the tennis program, he had to support the tennis program, and instructed him to write a blank check so that the funds would actually go to the program. Ernst pocketed the money instead. said Repella's attorney.
"This was an example of a father being offered an extra price tag. He was lucky enough to afford it, but made a bad decision to pay it. I gave up,” he said, Repella. Lawyer Robert Fisher wrote in court documents.
Repella pleaded guilty in 2020 to conspiracy to commit email fraud and honest services email fraud.
Ernst, who once coached the family of former President Barack Obama, said he received over $3 million in bribes in return for helping wealthy parents trick their children into college. In July he was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for robbery. school. Ernst's punishment is by far the longest sentence ever handed down in a major case.
Singer said he will be sentenced in November. He pleaded guilty to several felonies after helping authorities create a large-scale case by secretly recording conversations with his parents and sports coaches.
2019 More than 50 people were convicted in the highly publicized Operation Varsity Blues case in March.
The final defendant involved in the investigation going to trial was acquitted by a jury. all counts. Another defendant was pardoned by former President Donald Trump, and a third defendant won a deal expected to lead to the dismissal of his lawsuit.
