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4 more parents plead guilty in college admissions scandal

By Darryl Coote

Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Four more parents and a former tennis academy owner who originally sought to fight charges in connection to the nationwide college admissions scandal have pleaded guilty, prosecutors said.

Former Pimco CEO Douglas Hodge, Michelle Janavs and Manuel Henriquez, the founder of Hercules Capital, and his wife, Elizabeth, have pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said Monday.

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Martin Fox, a former president of a private Texas tennis academy, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit racketeering, prosecutors said.

The wealthy parents conspired with William "Rick" Singer, the owner of a for-profit college entrance company who pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in March, to secure admission to prestigious universities for their children by either presenting them as athlete recruits or having their entrance exam scores inflated.

Prosecutors accused Fox of introducing Singer to a University of Texas tennis coach, who arranged for a student to be falsely admitted at the school as a sports recruit in exchange for a bribe. Fox, who was paid $100,000 for the deal, then arranged bribes on two similar occasions at the University of San Diego.

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A total of 52 people have so far been charged during the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Operation Varsity Blues, including celebrities Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, and her husband Mossimo Giannulli.

Hodge said in a statement that he takes "full and complete responsibility" for the charges.

"I accept full and complete responsibility for my conduct. I have always prided myself on leading by example, and I am ashamed of the decisions I made," he said. "I acted out of love for my children, but I know that this explanation for my actions is not an excuse.

"I also want to apologize to the deserving college students who may have been adversely impacted by this process. I understand my actions are inconsistent with the way I've lived my life and I promise to spend the rest of my life proving that this lapse of judgment is not who I am."

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