College scammers get soft sentences

Time off for good behavior? No, just loose rules at the “Club Fed” in Dublin, Calif., for the inmate formerly known as #77806-112.

Free at last, Felicity Huffman is out of prison, released after 11 days in the pen although she was given a 14-day “sentence” for her involvement in the “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal. Prisoners slated for weekend release apparently get the weekend off, so Huffman walked.

Huffman pleaded guilty in Boston last month to hiring a proctor to cheat on her daughter’s SAT test. She’s one of dozens of wealthy helicopter parents who were caught up in the repugnant scam, where the privileged progeny were basically allowed to step past more qualified students to get into the colleges and universities of their choice.

Prosecutors have charged the scheme’s organizers, parents, test administrators and college coaches with cheating on tests, accepting bribes to cut in line and other assorted crimes connected with the scheme. Here are some of the juicier items:

A former Wynn Resorts bigwig who was instrumental in the launch of what became Encore Boston Harbor was just given additional charges alleging he conspired to bribe employees at the University of Southern California to gain admission for his daughter as a basketball recruit. He has pleaded not guilty to spending more than a quarter of a million dollars to do so.

Gordon Caplan of Greenwich, Conn., paid to have his daughter’s scores corrected on the fly. He was sentenced earlier this month to one month in prison, one year of probation upon release, a fine of $50,000 and 250 hours of community service. (He was fined $20,000 more than Huffman, who only paid $15,000 for her kid’s cheat codes, and had a longer sentence.)

Napa Valley vineyard owner Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, got a five-month sentence, two years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, and a fine of $100,000 for bribing USC on behalf of his daughter, who gained entry to USC as a water polo recruit.

A Los Angeles man used the same tactics to get his non-tennisplaying son into Georgetown. He got four months.

We should all be angry about this case … possibly as mad as USC athletic team fans, who have a whole lot of unqualified players on their teams, it would appear. (Although one schemer got a soccer position at rival UCLA for their daughter.) Actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannullo, have pleaded not guilty to accusations they paid bribes totaling $500,000 to have their two daughters designated as recruits to USC’s crew team in order to get them admitted into the school. They were issued new charges this week.

Some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning were all targeted in the scam by parents who wanted that “gold standard” experience for their offspring. Understandable that they sought admission for their children; unforgivable that they cheated other kids out of the opportunity, and outrageous that their “sentences” amount to little more than inconveniences.