A former Georgetown University Tennis coach, Gordon Ernst, was sentenced to 2 years in prison last Friday for accepting bribes from applicants to get them into the school.
Gordon Ernst, 54, has had one of the harshest punishments in the federal investigation known as Operation Varsity Blue. Operation Varsity Blue was named after the 1999 movie ‘Varsity Blue’ and primarily focused on wealthy parents trying to bribe their kids into elite colleges.
“Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system,” says U.S. attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “He put nearly $3.5 million in bribes directly into his pocket and sold close to two dozen slots at Georgetown to the highest bidder.”
According to court documents, Gordon Ernst pled guilty to charges such as filling a false tax return and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.
“Mr. Ernst was a key driver of this corruption of the college admissions process, and the court’s sentence speaks volumes about the gravity of his conduct,” Ms. Rollins said.
Alongside four dozen other people, Mr. Ernst, was initially arrested in March 2019. From 2012-2018, Mr. Ernst took more than a dozen bribes from students wanting to be tennis players on the Georgetown University team.
He worked alongside William Singer, who prosecutors consider to be the ringleader of this college admission bribery scheme. William Singer would often abuse his powers as a private college admissions counselor. He would do this by giving many wealthy parents a way to get their children into the top colleges in return for money. Miraculously, William Singer has not yet been prosecuted. However, he is one of the four people still waiting to be.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/us/gordon-ernst-georgetown-tennis-coach-scandal.html
Gordon Ernst, 54, has had one of the harshest punishments in the federal investigation known as Operation Varsity Blue. Operation Varsity Blue was named after the 1999 movie ‘Varsity Blue’ and primarily focused on wealthy parents trying to bribe their kids into elite colleges.
“Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system,” says U.S. attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “He put nearly $3.5 million in bribes directly into his pocket and sold close to two dozen slots at Georgetown to the highest bidder.”
According to court documents, Gordon Ernst pled guilty to charges such as filling a false tax return and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery.
“Mr. Ernst was a key driver of this corruption of the college admissions process, and the court’s sentence speaks volumes about the gravity of his conduct,” Ms. Rollins said.
Alongside four dozen other people, Mr. Ernst, was initially arrested in March 2019. From 2012-2018, Mr. Ernst took more than a dozen bribes from students wanting to be tennis players on the Georgetown University team.
He worked alongside William Singer, who prosecutors consider to be the ringleader of this college admission bribery scheme. William Singer would often abuse his powers as a private college admissions counselor. He would do this by giving many wealthy parents a way to get their children into the top colleges in return for money. Miraculously, William Singer has not yet been prosecuted. However, he is one of the four people still waiting to be.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/02/us/gordon-ernst-georgetown-tennis-coach-scandal.html
