College coaches plead not guilty in admissions scam
BOSTON — Athletic coaches charged in a sweeping college admissions scam pleaded not guilty Monday to taking bribes from wealthy parents in exchange for helping students get into elite universities such as Georgetown.
They appeared in Boston's federal court nearly two weeks after they were arrested in what authorities have described as the biggest college admissions scheme ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, which also ensnared prominent parents like actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.
Authorities say the coaches were paid tens of thousands of dollars to help falsify students' athletic credentials and get them admitted as recruits for sports they didn't play.
They include longtime tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who's accused of getting $2.7 million in bribes to designate at least 12 applicants as recruits to Georgetown, as well as former UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo, Wake Forest University women's volleyball coach William Ferguson and former USC water polo coach Jovan Vavic.
Ernst, who also was the personal tennis coach for former first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, left Georgetown in 2017 after an internal investigation found he had violated admissions rules. He was later hired by the University of Rhode Island, which says it wasn't told about the violations. The school said Saturday that Ernst has resigned.
Former USC senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel, two college entrance exam administrators and others accused of participating in the admissions scam also pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges Monday.
The charge calls for up to 20 years in prison, although defendants typically get far less than that.
At least nine athletic coaches and 33 parents, many of them prominent in law, finance, fashion, the food and beverage industry and other fields, have been charged in the case.
In addition to the athletic recruiting scheme, authorities say parents paid an admissions consultant to arrange for someone else to take college entrance exams on behalf of their children or correct answers for them.