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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 8, 2019

14 Defendants in College Admissions Scandal to Plead Guilty

13 parents and one university athletic coach have agreed to plead guilty to charges of
mail fraud and honest services mail fraud

BOSTON – Thirteen parents charged in the college admissions scandal will plead guilty to using bribery
and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities. One
coach also agreed to plead guilty.

The defendants were arrested last month and charged with conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, 58, of
Newport Beach, Calif., and others, to use bribery and other forms of fraud to secure the admission of
students to colleges and universities. The conspiracy involved bribing SAT and ACT exam administrators to
allow a test taker to secretly take college entrance exams in place of students, or to correct the students’
answers after they had taken the exam, and bribing university athletic coaches and administrators to
facilitate the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits.

The following defendants were charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud
and honest services mail fraud and have agreed to plead guilty pursuant to plea agreements:

1. Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, N.Y., together with his wife, Marcia, agreed to pay Singer $125,000
to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter;
2. Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y.;
3. Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $50,000 to participate in the
college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
4. Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Conn., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college
entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
5. Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the
college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
6. Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer at least $15,000 to participate in
the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her oldest daughter;
7. Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to participate in
both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his
daughter;
 8. Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college
entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
9. Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the
college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
10. Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $400,000 to participate in the
college recruitment scheme for his son; and
11. Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $250,000 to participate in the college
recruitment scheme for his son.

In addition, Bruce Isackson, 61, and Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, Calif., were charged in a
separate Information and have both agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud
and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson will also plead guilty to one count of money laundering
conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. The Isacksons agreed to pay Singer an
amount, ultimately totaling $600,000, to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their
younger daughter and the college recruitment scheme for both of their daughters. The Isacksons also
underpaid their federal income taxes by deducting the bribe payments as purported charitable
contributions. The Isacksons are cooperating with the government’s investigation.

Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at
Austin, was charged in a third Information and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to
commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. In 2015, Center personally accepted $60,000 in cash
from Singer, as well as $40,000 directed to the University of Texas tennis program, in exchange for
designating the child of one of Singer’s clients as a tennis recruit, thereby facilitating his admission to the
University of Texas.

All of the defendants who improperly took tax deductions for the bribe payments have agreed to cooperate
with the IRS to pay back taxes.

Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the Court. Case information, including the status of each
defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-
ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.

The charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud provides for a maximum
sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross
gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering provides for a
maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or
twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the
United States provides for a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release,
and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the
Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant
U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, and Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s
Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the cases.

Attachment(s):
Download B_Iasckson_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf
Download B_Isackson_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Buckingham_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Caplan_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Center_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download D_Isackson_Cooperation_Agreement.pdf
Download D_Isackson_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Flaxman_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download G_Abbott_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Huffman_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Huneeus_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Klapper_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download M_Abbott_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Sartorio_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Semprevivo_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Sloane_Plea_Agreement.pdf
Download Center_Affidavit.pdf
Download Isackson_Affidavit.pdf
Download Parents_Affidavit.pdf

Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Tax

Component(s):
USAO - Massachusetts

Updated April 8, 2019