A Los Angeles father was sentenced to four months in prison on Tuesday, for paying a $250,000 in bribes to have his son admitted into the University of Southern California as a fake water polo recruit.
53-year-old Devin Sloane, pleaded guilty in may to one count of fraud and conspiracy. He is the second parent sentenced in a college admissions scandal that has ensnared a number of wealthy parents.
Sloane was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani to perform 500 hours of community service over a two year period after his release, and also pay a $95,000 fine, reported USA Today.
“Just because you’re a good person doesn’t mean you don’t commit a crime when you do those things,” said Talwani. “I come back to the action you took in bribing a college official. Bribing a college official is a serious crime. You are not a repeat player, but what you did involved your child.”
According to authorities, Sloane helped forge fraudulent documents in which his son was depicted as an international water polo star, despite that fact he had never played the sport.
Sloane—a graduate of USC and founder of the Los Angeles water systems company AquaTecture—reportedly bought water polo gear online and had staged photos taken of his son in the family pool.
“There are no words to justify my behavior nor will I offer any excuses or justification,” he said Tuesday with tears in his eyes.
“The crime I committed is unacceptable. In my heart and my soul I want what’s best for my son. I realize now my actions were the antithesis of that.”
Sloane was accused of paying $200,000 to a fake charity operated by William “Rick” Singer, an admissions consultant at the center of the scheme, as well as another $50,000 to an account controlled by Donna Heinel, a former USC athletics official.
Singer pleaded guilty in March and agreed to work with authorities. Heinel is accused of accepting bribes to get students admitted as fake athletic recruits. She has pleaded not guilty.
According to the LA Times, Sloane’s lawyer asked the judge to forgo a prison sentence and instead give him a $75,000 fine, 2,000 hours of community service, and three years of supervised release.
Sloane told the judge in a letter, “the way the college admissions process worked today, no one had a chance. I unfortunately became convinced that the system was broken and unfair and that cutting a corner was somehow justifiable.”
“How stupid I was to believe this,” he wrote.
Prosecutors said Sloane deserved prison time because he enlisted his son in the scheme, stole an admissions spot from another student, and failed to take full responsibility by blaming Singer.
Sloane was ordered by Talwani to report to prison on Dec. 3.
“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman was the first parent sentenced in the scheme after admitting to paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT score. She was sentenced to 14 days in prison, 250 hours of community service, and a $30,000 fine.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
