Georgetown to Expel 2 Students Tied to Scandal
By • May 16, 2019 0 1032
It’s not just celebrities still caught up in the college admissions scandal that rocked the nation earlier this year. Georgetown University announced yesterday that it will expel two students connected to a scandal involving the former tennis coach at the school. The expulsion comes during graduation week for the university. Commencement events begin today.
Former coach Gordon Ernst is accused of falsely appointing students who applied to the school as athletic recruits — in exchange for bribes. The students who will be expelled were not identified. Alleged to have accepted bribes to help 12 students get into the university as tennis recruits, Ernst left the school by early 2018.
Those interested in attending Georgetown Universty declare that the information in their applications is true, the university said in a statement. Those who knowingly misrepresent or falsify credentials on applications can face expulsion. The students who were dismissed had their cases addressed and each was given opportunities to respond, the Washington Post reported.
In a separate case, Adam Seprevivo, a Georgetown student, filed a lawsuit in federal court in D.C. to block sanctions, including a possible expulsion, against him. Seprevivo’s father Stephen pleaded guilty earlier this month to fraud conspiracy. Seprevivo paid $400,000 to help Adam get into Georgetown as a tennis recruit (which he was not). Seprevivo claimed he did not know his father did this.
William “Rick” Singer, 58, was the mastermind behind the college admissions scandal that saw actresses Lori Loughlin (of “Full House” fame) and Felicity Huffman (“Desperate Housewives”) in trouble for bribing coaches and paying off SAT exam proctors. In March, Singer pleaded guilty to money laundering, tax evasion, racketeering and obstruction of justice for his role as leader in the elaborate scheme, tagged by the FBI as “Operation Varsity Blues.”
