Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A California woman received a three-week prison sentence Wednesday for paying a $15,000 bribe to get her son into college, the Department of Justice said.
Marjorie Klapper was sentenced after pleading guilty in May to conspiracy fraud for paying the money to a fake charity set up by the scheme's mastermind, William "Rick" Singer, to have her son's ACT score doctored.
She also falsely claimed her son had African-American and Hispanic/Latino heritage on his college applications, and said both she and her husband only had a high school education even though both have college degrees. She apparently lied on the applications because she believed it would improve her son's chances of admittance.
Prosecutors sought a four-month prison term for Klapper while her attorneys sought one year of supervised release, CNN reported.
"Ms. Klapper thereby not only corrupted the standardized testing system, but also specifically victimized the real minority applicants already fighting for admission to elite schools," U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said. "We respectfully disagree that a three-week sentence is a sufficient sanction for this misconduct."
Fifty-one people have been charged in the Operation Varsity Blues scandal, including actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. They're accused of paying more than $25 million collectively to Singer to promote their children as fake athletes with scholarships or to cheat on the SAT. So far, more than 23 people, including parents, coaches and Singer have pleaded guilty to felonies.
Huffman reported to a prison in California on Tuesday to serve her 14-day sentence.
