Being bribed into helping prospective students become admitted into a prestigious University like Georgetown has harsh consequences.
54-year-old Gordon Ernest of Falmouth, Mass., was Georgetown University’s tennis coach from the year 2006 to 2018. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison– issued as the harshest punishment so far in the federal investigation called Operation Varsity Blues, which focused on wealthy parents using large payments as bribes to allow their children to be accepted by elite schools.
Mr. Ernst was charged with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and filing a false tax return, according to court documents. Mr. Ernst pleaded guilty last fall to all of these charges, as well as to taking bribes for at least 12 students as recruits for the Georgetown tennis team, despite some of the students not having played tennis competitively in their entire life according to court documents.
Rachel S. Rollins, the U.S. attorney said “Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system; he put nearly 3.5 million dollars worth of bribes directly into his pocket and sold close to two dozen slots at Georgetown to the highest bidder. He was a key driver of this corruption of the college admissions process, and the court’s sentence speaks volumes about the gravity of conduct.”
The disgraced tennis coach was arrested in March of 2019 along with more than 4 dozen other coaches. More than 50 people were charged in a connection to this scandal. His sentencing is one of the final adjustments in the Varsity Blues scandal, and on his federal tax returns, Mr. Ernst failed to make clear all of the income from the bribe payments.
Mr. Ernst worked with a person that prosecutors called “the ringleader” of the scheme. William Singer, who went by Rick, was a private college counselor who opened a secret entrance into top schools for wealthy families. He often relies on athletic recruiters like Mr. Ernst to manipulate a college applicant’s qualifications. Mr. Singer is one of four remaining defendants in the Varsity Blues case who have not been sentenced yet. His hearing is scheduled for September.
54-year-old Gordon Ernest of Falmouth, Mass., was Georgetown University’s tennis coach from the year 2006 to 2018. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison– issued as the harshest punishment so far in the federal investigation called Operation Varsity Blues, which focused on wealthy parents using large payments as bribes to allow their children to be accepted by elite schools.
Mr. Ernst was charged with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and filing a false tax return, according to court documents. Mr. Ernst pleaded guilty last fall to all of these charges, as well as to taking bribes for at least 12 students as recruits for the Georgetown tennis team, despite some of the students not having played tennis competitively in their entire life according to court documents.
Rachel S. Rollins, the U.S. attorney said “Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system; he put nearly 3.5 million dollars worth of bribes directly into his pocket and sold close to two dozen slots at Georgetown to the highest bidder. He was a key driver of this corruption of the college admissions process, and the court’s sentence speaks volumes about the gravity of conduct.”
The disgraced tennis coach was arrested in March of 2019 along with more than 4 dozen other coaches. More than 50 people were charged in a connection to this scandal. His sentencing is one of the final adjustments in the Varsity Blues scandal, and on his federal tax returns, Mr. Ernst failed to make clear all of the income from the bribe payments.
Mr. Ernst worked with a person that prosecutors called “the ringleader” of the scheme. William Singer, who went by Rick, was a private college counselor who opened a secret entrance into top schools for wealthy families. He often relies on athletic recruiters like Mr. Ernst to manipulate a college applicant’s qualifications. Mr. Singer is one of four remaining defendants in the Varsity Blues case who have not been sentenced yet. His hearing is scheduled for September.
