Aspen couple tied to scandal
Gregory and Marcia Abbott facing charges in bribery scheme for college admissions
An Aspen couple are among the 50 people facing federal charges in the nationwide college-admissions cheating scandal that has ensnared Hollywood celebrities and corporate CEOs on both coasts.
Gregory and Marcia Abbott — who, according to court documents, are residents of both Aspen and New York City — are accused in a federal indictment of paying $125,000 to boost their teenage daughter’s scores on three standardized tests used for college admissions.
A woman who answered a phone number listed for Marcia Abbott at the couple’s Aspen address hung up Wednesday when asked about the allegations in the federal indictment.
Gregory Abbott, who is the CEO of beverage packaging company International Dispensing Corp., appeared in federal court in New York on Tuesday and was released on $500,000 bail, according to The Associated Press. Marcia Abbott was believed to be in Colorado and hadn’t made a court appearance as of Thursday morning.
Both face charges of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.
A 204-page affidavit filed by investigators alleged 32 parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, schemed to ensure their children were admitted to elite colleges. Some are accused of bribing athletic coaches to say their children were valuable recruits, while others paid a Florida educator to correct their kids’ answers on the SAT or ACT tests. At least nine athletic coaches, as well as others alleged to have been involved in the scheme, also were indicted.
William Singer, the founder of The Edge College & Career Network, a consulting business, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, money laundering and other charges. He then cooperated with investigators and recorded conversations with parents, including the Abbotts.
Prosecutors allege the Abbotts paid Singer $50,000 in April 2018, money disguised as a charitable donation. Singer then arranged for Mark Riddell, director of a college preparatory school in Florida, to proctor their daughter’s ACT exam and correct her answers, according to the affidavit. Investigators say $10,000 went to the owner of the West Hollywood Test Center in California, where she took the exam, and $10,000 went to Riddell, who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering.
The Abbotts’ daughter was unaware of the plan, investigators said. Without the cheating, her
score would have been about average for Colorado students in 2018, according to the affidavit.
A court-ordered wiretap recorded conversations between Marcia Abbott and Singer in June, August and September, where they allegedly discussed a similar plan to increase her daughter’s scores on two SAT subject tests if she didn’t achieve a high score taking them on her own in Colorado, according to the affidavit. Some elite schools require applicants to submit their scores in standardized tests of math, literature, history or another subject.
The Abbott Family Foundation allegedly made a $75,000 payment, once again disguised as a donation, and, in October, Marcia Abbott and her daughter flew from Colorado to Los Angeles for her subject tests at the West Hollywood Test Center. Once again, prosecutors allege, Riddell raised the daughter’s scores from average to nearly perfect.
Defense attorney Jennifer Willis argued in court in New York on Tuesday that Gregory Abbott “plays a very small role in this conspiracy,” according to the New York Post.
Reached on Wednesday, Willis said she only represented Abbott for his initial court appearance and couldn’t make any additional comments about his case. It isn’t clear whether he or Marcia Abbott have retained an attorney to defend them in the college admission prosecution.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell contributed to this report.