California parent pleads guilty in Varsity Blues college-admissions case


Wednesday, December 11, 2019

A woman from California has pleaded guilty to a charge filed Monday which alleged that she paid $9,000 to have someone take online classes to help her son graduate from Georgetown University. Federal prosecutors have charged her. Georgetown University is one of the U.S.’ top institutions and is the latest in a series of universities that have discovered students’ parents engaging in fraud.



According to the plea agreement that was reached with Karen Littlefair, 57, of Newport Beach, California, the prosecutors will suggest:
  • Four months in prison
  • One year of supervised release
  • A $9,500 fine
  • Restitution
  • She was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The charges are the latest brought up in this national college admissions investigation that has uncovered a scheme to help children of wealthy parents gain admission to elite universities. Parents have paid for cheating on standardized tests and for ruses that made their children appear to be recruited athletes, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston, which is the office prosecuting the case stemming from Operation Varsity Blues. 

Prosecutors say Littlefair worked with a private college counselor and others to pay $9,000 to have an employee of William “Rick” Singer’s college-counseling business to take four online classes at Georgetown to help her son graduate from college. 

Her son graduated from Georgetown University in May 2018. 

Singer pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the investigation. 

Kenneth B. Julian, an attorney for Littlefair, said, “My client has taken the earliest opportunity to take responsibility for her conduct.” Littlefair acknowledges the illegality of her actions.

Georgetown University has been the target of other parents who have also asked Singer to help their children gain admission. Gordon Ernst, a former coach, was investigated in 2017 when the admissions office flagged irregularities in the athletic credentials of two students recruited to play tennis. These applicants were not admitted. The investigation led to changes in which the top college recruits and verifies athletes’ participation in teams.

Ernst, who pleaded not guilty when he was charged by federal prosecutors, was asked to resign.

The announcement of Varsity Blues indictments in March led Georgetown officials to continue with the investigation. There is a focus on whether students knowingly provided false information to the admissions office. Two admitted students were dismissed in May.

The university’s Honor Council investigates and adjudicates cases in which there are potentially serious violations of the schools’ honor system. These penalties could include revocation of a Georgetown University degree.

The college has taken steps—and plans additional measures—to increase the security of its online courses. Top colleges and universities in the US offer online courses through online learning portals so that undergraduate and graduate students can earn full degrees or parts of their degrees online. Online courses promise a huge degree of flexibility, but it is indeed easier for students to “fake their way” through these courses. Georgetown University is working on strategies to identify possible cheating. This will include the strengthening of proctoring for online courses and using advanced technology to detect plagiarism.




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