Former Georgetown Tennis Coach Sentenced to More Than 2 Years in Varsity Blues Case

A former Georgetown College head tennis coach who pleaded responsible final fall to accepting bribes to assist potential college students achieve admission to the varsity was sentenced Friday to greater than two years in jail, in line with the U.S. lawyer’s workplace for the District of Massachusetts.

The sentencing of the coach, Gordon Ernst, 54, of Chevy Chase, Md., and Falmouth, Mass., to 30 months represented the harshest punishment issued thus far within the federal investigation often known as Operation Varsity Blues, which has targeted on the cost of bribes by rich dad and mom in an effort to have their kids admitted to elite schools.

“Mr. Ernst was one of the prolific contributors in dishonest the school admissions system,” Rachael S. Rollins, the U.S. lawyer, mentioned in a press release. “He put almost $3.5 million in bribes instantly into his pocket and offered shut to 2 dozen slots at Georgetown to the best bidder.”

Mr. Ernst pleaded responsible final fall to expenses together with conspiracy to commit federal applications bribery and submitting a false tax return, in line with court docket paperwork.

“Mr. Ernst was a key driver of this corruption of the school admissions course of, and the court docket’s sentence speaks volumes in regards to the gravity of his conduct,” Ms. Rollins mentioned within the assertion.

Attorneys for Mr. Ernst couldn’t be reached for remark.

The disgraced former tennis coach was first arrested in March 2019, together with greater than 4 dozen different coaches, dad and mom and testing heart officers. Mr. Ernst pleaded responsible to taking bribes to designate a minimum of 12 college students as recruits for the Georgetown tennis group between 2012 and 2018. A few of these college students didn’t play tennis competitively, in line with court docket paperwork.

Greater than 50 individuals have been charged in reference to the scandal.

Mr. Ernst additionally did not report all the revenue from these bribe funds on his federal revenue tax returns, in line with a press release from the Division of Justice. His sentencing is among the ultimate installments within the Varsity Blues scandal, which prompted renewed issues a few faculty admissions system that always favors rich candidates.

Mr. Ernst labored alongside the individual that prosecutors mentioned was the ringleader of the school admissions scheme, William Singer, who glided by Rick, a personal faculty counselor who supplied rich households a “facet door” into the nation’s prime universities, usually utilizing athletic recruiters like Mr. Ernst to obfuscate a school applicant’s {qualifications}. Mr. Singer, who started cooperating with authorities in 2018, is one in all 4 remaining defendants within the Varsity Blues case who haven’t but been sentenced. His listening to is scheduled for September.