Georgetown Coach From MD Indicted in College Admissions Scheme

WASHINGTON, DC — Former Georgetown University men's and women's tennis Gordon Ernst, 52, who lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, is among dozens indicted in what the Department of Justice has called the "largest ever" college recruitment scam. Those named in the indictment allegedly helped cheat on college entrance exams and the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits at Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest and Georgetown, among others.

From 2011 to February 2019, a California man who owned a college counseling and preparation business allegedly conspired with dozens of parents, athletic coaches, a university athletics administrator, and others to bribe officials to admit students to top-flight colleges and universities including Georgetown, federal prosecutors say. 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 on the exam; bribing university athletic coaches and administrators — including coaches at Georgetown — to facilitate the admission of students under the guise of being recruited as athletes; and used a charity to conceal the nature and source of the bribes, authorities claim.

Documents from the federal investigation, titled "Operation Varsity Blues," show that prosecutors have charged 50 people, including 33 parents, nine coaches, two SAT and ACT administrators, one proctor and one college administrator.

"These parents are a catalogue of wealth and privilege," U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Andrew Lelling, said at a Tuesday press conference. Among those charged are actresses – including Lori Loughlin, who starred as Aunt Becky in "Full House," and "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman – CEOs, a famous fashion designer and a co-chairman of a global law firm.

Ernst is charged in an indictment with racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater and restitution.

Officials said that 38 people have been taken into custody safely, seven are working toward surrendering and one is being "actively pursued."

One of the men indicted was paid $10,000 for each student’s test. Clients paid from $15,000 and $75,000 per test, with the payments structured as purported donations to a charity. In many instances, the students taking the exams were unaware that their parents had arranged for the cheating, prosecutors said.