Bogus college entrance exam taker gets 4 months in prison
BOSTON – A former Florida prep school administrator who took students’ college entrance exams for bribes was sentenced to four months in prison Friday, the same day a decorated former water polo coach at the University of Southern California was found guilty of fraud and bribery.
The sentence for Mark Riddell was what U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins’ office had recommended to the judge in court filings ahead of Friday’s hearing.
Riddell’s lawyers had argued for one to two months in prison, saying he was neither the ringleader of the scheme nor a university insider, like the coaches and college administrators implicated.
In court, Riddell apologized to the students who lost out of college opportunities because of his “terrible decision.”
Riddell, who had been cooperating with federal authorities in hopes of getting a lesser sentence, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges in April 2019.
Riddell oversaw college entrance exam preparation at IMG Academy, a school in Bradenton, Florida, that bills itself as the world’s largest sports academy.
Authorities say the admissions consultant at the center of the scheme, Rick Singer, bribed test administrators to allow Riddell to pretend to proctor the exams for students so he could cheat on the tests.
Riddell, who was fired from IMG Academy, made more than $200,000 by cheating on over 25 exams, prosecutors said.
Also Friday, a federal jury in Boston convicted former USC water polo coach Jovan Vavic of fraud and bribery.
Vavic, 60, who guided USC’s men’s and women’s water polo teams to 16 national championships, received about $250,000 in bribes for designating unqualified students so they could attend the elite school, prosecutors said.
Nearly 60 people, including wealthy and famous parents as well as college coaches and athletic administrators were charged in the Operation Varsity Blues case, including “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli.