Elisabeth Kimmel, a 54-year-old Las Vegas resident whose family owned a television station and other media properties in San Diego before selling them off in 2017, leaves the federal courthouse after a hearing associated with the college admissions bribery scandal, Friday, March 29, 2019 in Boston. Kimmel is accused of using bribes to get her daughter into Georgetown as a tennis recruit and her son into USC as a track recruit. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP)
BOSTON (AP) – From a Napa Valley vintner to a Hot Pockets heiress, a procession of wealthy parents made their first appearances in federal court Friday on charges they paid bribes to get their children into top colleges.
The 15 parents, including CEOs, investment executives, real estate developers and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, have been implicated in a college admissions scheme in which authorities say they paid a consultant to rig their children’s test scores and bribe coaches at sought-after schools like Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.
Prosecutors say the case, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues, is the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted.
Agustin Huneeus, right, a 53-year-old San Francisco resident whose family owns vineyards in California’s Napa Valley and in Oregon, leaves the federal courthouse after a hearing associated with the college admissions bribery scandal, Friday, March 29, 2019 in Boston. Huneeus is accused of paying at least $50,000 to have SAT administrators correct his daughter’s college entrance exam and to have USC officials designate her as a water polo recruit. (Matt Stone/The Boston Herald via AP)
The initial court appearances were largely a formality as defendants were not asked to enter a plea, and court officials simply recited the charges and informed the defendants of their rights.
Most parents didn’t speak up other than to respond to a brief series of yes or no questions by the judge. Many lawyers also declined to comment both during the court appearances and after.