Dad of fake water polo star is sentenced

BOSTON — A Los Angeles business executive was sentenced Tuesday to four months imprisonment for paying $250,000 to get his son admitted to the University of Southern California as a fake water polo recruit.

Devin Sloane, 53, pleaded guilty in May to a single count of fraud and conspiracy in a deal with prosecutors. He is the second parent — actress Felicity Huffman was the first — to be sentenced in a college admissions scandal that has ensnared dozens of wealthy parents.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani also ordered Sloane to 500 hours of community service and a fine of $95,000.

Authorities say Sloane helped fabricate documents depicting his son as a water polo star even though he had never played the sport. He bought water polo gear online and staged action photos of his son in the family’s swimming pool.

In a Sept. 14 letter asking for leniency, Sloane called himself a “dedicated family man” who grew up in poverty and was only trying to help his son avoid the same “emotional pain” he experienced as a child.

Sloane is a graduate of USC and founder of the water systems company Aquatecture.

“There are no words to justify my behavior nor will I offer any excuses or justification,” he said tearfully Tuesday. “In my heart and my soul I want what’s best for my son. I realize now my actions were the antithesis of that.”

He was accused of paying $200,000 to a sham charity operated by William “Rick” Singer, an admissions consultant at the center of the scheme, and $50,000 to an account controlled by Donna Heinel, a former USC athletics official. Sloane