Former Sailing Coach Sentenced To One Day In Jail For Accepting Bribes

Stanford Sailing Coach John Vandemoer Sentenced In Boston Court Over College Admissions Scandal

Stanford University's former sailing coach was sentenced to one day in jail, but will not have to spend it behind bars. U.S. District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel also gave John Vandemoer two years of supervised release, six months of home confinement, and a $10,000 fine for accepting bribes to help prospective students get accepted into the college. Judge Zobel dismissed the prison sentence as time served.

Vandemoer is the first of 22 people who have pleaded guilty to be sentenced in a massive college admissions scandal, which has been dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. He pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy for his role in the scheme. He admitted to falsely representing three recruits as elite sailors in exchange for three separate payments of $500,000, $110,000 and $160,000 on behalf of Stanford's sailing program. Neither of the three students benefited from the scheme, and only one of them ended up attending Stanford, after being accepted as part of the normal admissions process.

The scheme was run by William Rick Singer, who helped the children of wealthy individuals get into elite schools by bribing college admissions officials and the proctors for college entry exams. In some cases, he would arrange for students to get extra time to take the tests or have somebody change their answers after the test was submitted.

Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were both caught up in the scandal for paying Singer to help their children get into college. Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, while Loughlin is fighting the charges against her.

Photo: Getty Images


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