Ex-Stanford sailing coach avoids prison, admits guilt
BOSTON — A former head sailing coach at Stanford avoided prison time when a judge sentenced him Wednesday for his role in a sweeping college admissions scam at elite U.S. universities.
John Vandemoer is the first person to be sentenced in the case that exposed the lengths that some wealthy parents will go to get their children into the nation’s top schools.
Vandemoer admitted to agreeing to help students get into Stanford as recruited athletes in exchange for money for his sailing program.
U.S. District Court Judge Rya Zobel sentenced him to one day in prison, which he was deemed to have served. He will pay a $10,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring.
Zobel said she believed it was important that Vandemoer be punished because “it’s too easy to do this kind of thing.” But she said she didn’t believe he needed to serve time behind bars, noting the powerful letters of support he received and calling him probably the “least culpable” of those charged in the case because he didn’t take any of the money for himself.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen told the judge that a prison sentence was necessary to send a message to other defendants charged in the case and other people considering on cheating the college admissions system.
“If we fail to take these crimes seriously, if you give just a slap on the wrist instead of real punishment, we are short-changing not only the criminal justice system, but all those kids in high school who are working hard every day in an effort to improve their own lives and to get into the best school they can honestly and through hard work,” Rosen said.
Prosecutors had sought more than a year behind bars. Vandemoer pleaded guilty in March on the same day that charges were announced in the “Operation Varsity Blues” case against 50 people, including business executives and Hollywood actresses.
Vandemoer stood to address the judge and apologized to his family, friends, the sailing team and Stanford. “I am devastated that the program and the sport would be looked at poorly because of my actions,” he said.