Powerful parents lose jobs, face backlash over college admissions scandal
The parents and others accused of cheating and bribing officials to get their kids into elite colleges are expected to face charges in federal court in the coming weeks.
Some have pleaded not guilty already.
For the record:
11:30 a.m. March 18, 2019An earlier version of this article said Doug Hodge had stepped down as head of the Sage Hill School in Orange County. He resigned from the school’s Board of Trustees.
They also are facing fallout — and in some cases consequences — from the sensational college admissions scandal, the largest of its kind in the country.
Here is a rundown:
Lori Loughlin
The “Full House” star had become a familiar face on the Hallmark Channel, starring in numerous movies. But the channel last week cut ties with the actress.
Loughlin has been a longtime regular on the media company’s programming. She has starred in a number of the Hallmark Channel’s original romantic holiday movies, including 2018’s “Homegrown Christmas,” 2016’s “Every Christmas Has a Story” and 2015’s “Northpole: Open for Christmas,” as well as the network’s 2010 romantic drama “A Soldier’s Love Story.”
She is part of the original cast of the Hallmark Channel series “When Calls the Heart,” which debuted in 2014 and is now airing its sixth season. Loosely based on Janette Oke’s series of Christian novels, the family-friendly drama centers on small-town schoolteacher Elizabeth Thatcher; Loughlin plays her wise friend, Abigail Staunton.
“We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” the company said in a statement to The Times on Thursday. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including ‘Garage Sale Mysteries,’ an independent third party production.”
She has pleaded not guilty to charges in the admissions scandal.
Doug Hodge
Hodge is a former chief executive of Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., or PIMCO.
He is accused of paying bribes to get two of his children into USC as part of the admissions bribery scandal. He was released Wednesday on $500,000 bond after appearing briefly in federal court in Boston, where he did not enter a plea on charges including conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Last week, it was announced he was stepping down from the board of trustees of the elite Sage Hill School in Orange County.
Michelle Janavs
Janavs, a former executive in her family’s food manufacturing business and a USC graduate, is accused of using bribery to get her two daughters into preferred schools.
According to the federal complaint, Janavs paid $100,000 to Newport Beach education consultant William “Rick” Singer to help one daughter cheat on her ACT in 2017 and get into USC as a purported beach volleyball player. Earlier this year, prosecutors allege, she paid $50,000 for another daughter to cheat on the exam.
She also has left the Sage Hill board.
College admissions scandal: Here is everyone charged in the case »
Bill McGlashan
TPG Growth managing partner Bill McGlashan has been fired from the prominent private equity firm after allegations that he participated in the massive college admissions cheating scheme to get his son accepted at USC.
McGlashan, 55, apologized to TPG board members in a Thursday memo, saying the companies would be “best set to continue their mission” without him.
“I am deeply sorry this very difficult situation may interfere with the work to which I have devoted my life,” the Mill Valley financier said in a statement.
According to the 204-page charging document, McGlashan agreed to donate $50,000 to Key Worldwide Foundation, the Newport Beach charity at the center of the scandal with the understanding that Singer, its leader, would arrange for his son’s ACT test to be corrected by a proctor in exchange for a bribe. McGlashan’s son received a 34 out of a possible 36 on the exam.
Manuel Henriquez
Manuel Henriquez is the founder, chairman and CEO of Hercules Capital in Palo Alto.
He and his wife are accused of participating in the college entrance scheme multiple times for their two daughters.
Henriquez was supposed to be billed $75,000 at one point, but instead of paying for the cheating, he agreed to use his influence at Northeastern University, where he is an alumnus and a former member of one of the university’s governing bodies, to secure admission for an unnamed applicant, according to the complaint.
The Henriquezes also are accused of conspiring to bribe Gordon Ernst, the head tennis coach at Georgetown, to enlist their older daughter as a tennis recruit to ease her admission to the university.
In the wake of the scandal, Henriquez stepped down as chairman of Hercules Capital.
Gordon Caplan
Caplan is an attorney and co-chairman of the law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
He is accused of making a $75,000 payment under the guise of a charitable donation for his daughter to participate in the cheating scheme.
He allegedly took his daughter to a psychologist in Los Angeles in order to get medical documentation she would need to receive extended time for an entrance exam. Singer told Caplan that his daughter needed “to be stupid” when a psychologist evaluated her for a learning disability.
The ACT twice denied his daughter’s request for extended time before ultimately granting it at the request of law enforcement officials investigating the scheme, according to the complaint.
In a phone call, Singer suggested Caplan hire someone to take classes for his daughter to improve her grades.
After the charges were announced, Caplan went on leave, according to the Hartford Courant.
Parents in college-admissions scandal got tax breaks. Outrage sparks calls for change »
Olivia Jade
Loughlin’s daughter, whose acceptance to USC was also part of the federal charges, is a well-known social media influencer.
But after the scandal broke, Sephora ended its brand partnership with her.
The daughter of Loughlin and J. Mossimo Giannulli, the creator of clothing brand Mossimo, fronted a cosmetics collaboration for the Paris-based cosmetics company that included a bronzer palette.
“After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately,” the company said in a statement to The Times on Thursday.
She has not been charged in the case.
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