Former Georgetown University head tennis coach Gordon Ernst was sentenced on Friday, July 1, 2022 to more than 2 years in prison for pocketing nearly $3.5 million in bribes in exchange to helping wealthy students cheat their way into the school.
This was by far the harshest punishment given yet in the investigation known as Operation Varsity Blues, which focuses on wealthy parents illegally bribing coaches and other university staff to assist their children in getting admitted into elite schools.
Originally arrested in March of 2019, along with more than four dozen other coaches, parents, and testing center officials, Ernst pleaded guilty and confessed to accepting bribes from at least 12 students to be recruited onto the Georgetown tennis team between the years of 2012 and 2018.
Before Ernst’s sentence, the toughest punishment had been 15 months in prison, given to John Wilson in March 2019 for paying $220,000 to have his son appointed as a University of Southern California water polo recruit, along with $1 million to bribe admission for his twin daughters into Harvard and Stanford. Ernst’s sentence, however, was twice as long as Wilson’s.
“Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system,” said Rachael S. Rollins, the US attorney, in a statement. “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.” “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,” Rollins added as well.
Prosecutors demanded four years of prison for Ernst, while attorneys requested a one year sentence instead.
Ernst is only one among 54 others who were convicted and charged in the Operation Varsity Blues case scandal.
“Of the six spots Ernst got every year to recruit tennis players, he regularly gave at least two — and often up to five — to unqualified students in exchange for bribes, according to prosecutors. Over the years, he helped nearly two dozen students fraudulently get into the school,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney told the judge, Indira Talwani, who was assigned to Ernst’s case.
What’s more, Ernst worked together with William Singer, otherwise known as Rick, who was the ringleader of the illegal college admissions conspiracies, according to prosecutors.
Only four defendants of the Operation Varsity Blues scandal await their sentencing, including Singer.
Link to Article: Ex-Georgetown Tennis Coach Sentenced in Admissions Scandal – The New York Times.pdf
Other Sources: Ex-Georgetown coach sentenced to 2 1/2 years in toughest punishment handed out in college bribery scandal – CBS News
This was by far the harshest punishment given yet in the investigation known as Operation Varsity Blues, which focuses on wealthy parents illegally bribing coaches and other university staff to assist their children in getting admitted into elite schools.
Originally arrested in March of 2019, along with more than four dozen other coaches, parents, and testing center officials, Ernst pleaded guilty and confessed to accepting bribes from at least 12 students to be recruited onto the Georgetown tennis team between the years of 2012 and 2018.
Before Ernst’s sentence, the toughest punishment had been 15 months in prison, given to John Wilson in March 2019 for paying $220,000 to have his son appointed as a University of Southern California water polo recruit, along with $1 million to bribe admission for his twin daughters into Harvard and Stanford. Ernst’s sentence, however, was twice as long as Wilson’s.
“Mr. Ernst was one of the most prolific participants in cheating the college admissions system,” said Rachael S. Rollins, the US attorney, in a statement. “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.” “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,” Rollins added as well.
Prosecutors demanded four years of prison for Ernst, while attorneys requested a one year sentence instead.
Ernst is only one among 54 others who were convicted and charged in the Operation Varsity Blues case scandal.
“Of the six spots Ernst got every year to recruit tennis players, he regularly gave at least two — and often up to five — to unqualified students in exchange for bribes, according to prosecutors. Over the years, he helped nearly two dozen students fraudulently get into the school,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Kearney told the judge, Indira Talwani, who was assigned to Ernst’s case.
What’s more, Ernst worked together with William Singer, otherwise known as Rick, who was the ringleader of the illegal college admissions conspiracies, according to prosecutors.
Only four defendants of the Operation Varsity Blues scandal await their sentencing, including Singer.
Link to Article: Ex-Georgetown Tennis Coach Sentenced in Admissions Scandal – The New York Times.pdf
Other Sources: Ex-Georgetown coach sentenced to 2 1/2 years in toughest punishment handed out in college bribery scandal – CBS News
