Ex-Stanford sailing coach is spared prison in college admissions scandal
Facing up to three years in prison, the former Stanford sailing coach embroiled in the nationwide college admissions scandal received a much lighter sentence from a federal judge — a single day in prison, deemed already served.
John Vandemoer’s sentence, handed down Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Boston, included six months of home confinement and a $10,000 fine. It marked the first punishment levied in the cheating and bribery investigation known as “Operation Varsity Blues” that exposed how far some wealthy parents — including celebrities — were willing to go to get their children into prestigious schools.
The 41-year-old ex-coach admitted to accepting $610,000 in bribes from parents seeking to get their children into Stanford as sailing recruits. Prosecutors asked for a 13-month prison sentence, lower than Vandemoer’s March plea deal that called for 33 to 41 months.
But Judge Rya Zobel believed Vandemoer’s lack of personal financial gain made him unique in the multimillion dollar scam, according to a Law360 reporter in the courtroom.
Moments before the sentencing, Vandemoer, who was the first of dozens of defendants snared by Operation Varsity Blues to plead guilty, stood in the courtroom and spoke publicly about his crime for the first time, apologizing
to friends, family, Stanford University, his former team and the sailing community.
“I’ve spent my life trying to be a good and moral person but, here, I made a terrible mistake,” Vandemoer said in his prepared statement. “And, my mistake impacted the ones I care about the most in ways I could not imagine. I would like to take this time to apologize to the ones I have hurt.”
Vandemoer pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit racketeering in March and was fired from his Stanford post the same day. He, along with his Olympic sailor wife and two kids, were evicted from his student housing.
His case stands out in that Vandemoer didn’t pocket any money, but rather deposited checks into team-related accounts for assistant coaches and supplies. Judge Zobel questioned prosecutors about the extent of Vandemoer’s benefit from the scam, according to reports from the courtroom.
“The parents who conspired to bribe Vandemoer and other coaches did so precisely to gain a lifelong commercial advantage for their children in the form of a degree from an elite university,” lead prosecutor Eric Rosen wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “And the defendant, too, benefited, insofar as the bribes were paid, at his direction, to a fund he controlled, which benefited the team he managed, and thus enhanced his standing within the university and his career — all of which he has admitted.”
The months-long scandal brought charges against 50 people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman and 31 other wealthy parents of students seeking admission into top schools. Ringleader William “Rick” Singer has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the scheme by creating a bogus charity that would funnel large sums of money from parents to school officials, coaches and testing operators.
Vandemoer was introduced to Singer in the fall of 2016 when the coach was asked to designate a student from China as a sailing recruit. In exchange, the student’s family would “endow” sailing coaches’ salaries. Singer created a fake sailing profile for the girl, but the scheme didn’t pan out because it was too late in the recruiting season. Instead, the girl was later admitted to Stanford through the regular application process.
Prosecutors noted that after the girl’s admission, the parents of the girl made a $6.5 million payment to Singer’s organization. Stanford has since said it rescinded the student’s admission.
Vandemoer continued working with Singer in 2017 with two other girls, both of whom wound up attending other schools. With one student from Las Vegas, who had little sailing experience, Vandemoer lied on Stanford’s internal “ranking and justification” form.
“She is an athlete from other sports who converted late to sailing,” Vandemoer wrote on the university document. “She has the potential to be a really athletic crew for us. She lives in Las Vegas during the year and commutes to Newport Beach to sail.”
When it was time for Vandemoer to give a statement, he was contrite, saying Stanford’s students, alumni and faculty did not “deserve to be looked at under the cloud that I have brought over them.
“I’m truly sorry for bringing you into this mess, you do not deserve it,” Vandemoer said. “To the current sailing team, to the team’s alumni, and the collegiate sailing community: I’m devastated that this has impacted you all. I’m devastated that the program and the sport would be looked at poorly because of my actions. You had no part in it and you did not deserve it.”
Stanford submitted its own victim-impact statement, saying it hoped to find a worthy cause to donate the $770,000 its sailing program received through the “Varsity Blues” scam. The school viewed the money as “tainted” and “does not wish to benefit in any way” from Vandemoer’s conduct, said Debra Zumwalt, the university’s general counsel.
Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Vandemoer’s actions tainted the competition for college entry.
“Mr. Vandemoer agreed to accept $610,000 in exchange for corrupting the admissions process of a major university,” Lelling said. “We will continue to seek meaningful penalties in these cases.”
In letters of support, friends and family indicated Vandemoer had undergone counseling, understands his sailing career is over and plans to attend business school.
“My career that I have worked passionately for 20 years is gone, and my freedom is in jeopardy, endangering my ability to be there for my kids,” Vandemoer told the judge. “I deserve all of this — I caused it — and for that I’m deeply ashamed.”