Date: August 16, 2021 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov Boston — The former chief executive of a California-based media company pleaded guilty in connection with her involvement in the college admissions case. Elisabeth Kimmel of La Jolla, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Dec. 9, 2021. Kimmel agreed with William "Rick" Singer and others to pay $275,000 to facilitate her daughter's admission to Georgetown University by allegedly having Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst allocate a tennis admission slot to her daughter, even though she was not a competitive tennis player and was not actually being recruited to play on the Georgetown tennis team. Kimmel further agreed with Singer and others to pay $250,000 to facilitate her son's admission to the University of Southern California as a pole vault recruit, even though he was not a pole vaulter. Kimmel is the 32nd parent to plead guilty in the case. Singer previously pleaded guilty and is pending sentencing. Ernst has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent. Under the terms of Kimmel's plea agreement, the parties have agreed to a sentence of six weeks in prison and two years of supervised release, with the first year spent in home confinement. Should the Court accept the plea, Kimmel will also be required to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 500 hours of community service. The charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud provides for a sentence of up 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations in Boston; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Mark Deckett, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin D. O'Connell, Leslie A. Wright, Kristen A. Kearney, Ian J. Stearns, and Stephen E. Frank of Mendell's Securities, Financial and Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
