Dad Gets 5 Months Sentence in College Scam, Stiffest Term for Parent Yet

(Bloomberg) -- A California winemaker drew the stiffest sentence yet of the parents punished in the U.S. college-admissions scandal: a five-month prison term for paying $300,000 to fix his daughter’s SAT scores and get her into the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit.

Agustin Huneeus, the former chief executive officer of Huneeus Vintners LLC, had asked for two months -- the second parent in a row to request jail time, after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ordered the first three incarcerated. Prosecutors wanted 15 months.

Huneeus had written to Talwani saying he “looked forward” to his sentencing “so I can start to put this behind me. I want to pay my dues and feel clean again.”

Parents in the scam paid tens of thousands of dollars to rig their children’s entrance-exam scores. To lock in a seat an an elite university, some paid hundreds of thousands to bribe athletic coaches to put their kids’ names on recruiting lists. Of those who pleaded guilty and are facing Talwani, prosecutors said, only Huneeus did both.

Of 35 parents charged, 15 entered guilty pleas. Here’s where the sentencings stand and who’s coming up next.

Felicity Huffman, actor

• What she did: Paid $15,000 to fix daughter’s SAT scores
• What she asked for: One year of probation or home detention and community service; prosecutors asked for one month in prison
• What she got: 14 days
• What the judge said: “The outrage is a system that is already so distorted by money and privilege in the first place.” Despite her privilege, Huffman took “that next step.”

Devin Sloane, founder, AquaTecture LLC

• What he did: Paid $250,000 to get son into USC as a water polo recruit
• What he asked for: As many as 2,000 hours of community service with Special Olympics or another group; prosecutors asked for a year in prison
• What he got: Four months
• What the judge said: “I don’t sentence good people or bad people. I sentence people. ... Just because you’re a good person doesn’t mean you’re not committing a crime.”

Stephen Semprevivo, former chief strategy officer, Cydcor LLC

• What he did: Paid $400,000 to get son into Georgetown as a tennis recruit
• What he asked for: An unspecified period of probation and 2,000 hours of community service; prosecutors asked for 15 months in prison
• What he got: Four months
• What the judge said: “Why does it matter, in terms of my sentencing, why someone else invited him to do this crime?”

Gordon Caplan, former co-chair, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

• What he did: Paid $75,000 to fix daughter’s ACT scores
• What he asked for: 14 days in prison, invoking Huffman’s term; prosecutors asked for eight months
• What he got: One month
• What the judge said of his role in the $25 million bribery scheme: “What has been exposed by the government is the tip of the iceberg. If ever there was a case of a need for general deterrence, this is one of those examples.”

Agustin Huneeus, former CEO, Huneeus Vintners LLC

• What he did: Paid $300,000 to fix daughter’s SAT scores and get her into USC as a water polo recruit
• What he asked for: Two months in prison; prosecutors asked for 15 months
• What he got: Five months

Huneeus, 53, said in court filings that he was introduced to the plot’s ringleader, Rick Singer, by a college friend and hired him to tutor his daughter “because he was the best in the business,” only later to be drawn into the scheme. Prosecutors said he embroiled his daughter by directing her to adopt a “shut-your-trap mentality about their crime.”

Because of his guilty plea, Huneeus is barred by California law from operating the business -- now extensive -- that his family moved from Chile to launch, he told the court, forcing his 86-year-old father out of retirement.

“Our name has been shamed in Chile, and in every wine publication,” he said. “In short, I destroyed the reputation he devoted his life to building.”

Next to be sentenced, on Tuesday, are Gregory and Marcia Abbott, who admitted to paying $125,000 to falsify their daughter’s test scores. The Abbotts have asked for probation, arguing they fell prey to Singer’s racket after their daughter was stricken with Lyme disease. Prosecutors want as many as nine months in prison, saying each of the Abbotts played an active role. By contrast, Caplan’s wife, who wasn’t charged, objected when she felt Singer had gone too far, they said.

Three days later, the judge will sentence Peter Jan Sartorio, the first parent to say he or she would plead guilty, for paying Singer $15,000 to inflate his daughter’s ACT score. He, too, has asked for probation, stressing his early acceptance of responsibility. The government has urged Talwani to give Sartorio one month in prison.

--With assistance from Janelle Lawrence.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Joe Schneider

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