Former President of Private Tennis Academy Agrees to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Case

Former President of Private Tennis Academy Agrees to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Case

A former President of a private tennis academy has agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions case.

Martin Fox, 62, of Houston, Texas, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, announced United States Attorney Andrew Lelling.

According to the terms of the plea agreement, the government will recommend a sentence at the low end of the sentencing guidelines, one year of supervised release, a fine, and restitution.

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The Case

According to the U.S. Attorney, In 2015, Fox introduced co-conspirator William “Rick” Singer to a tennis coach at the University of Texas (U-Texas), who facilitated the admission of a student to U-Texas as a purported athletic recruit in exchange for a bribe.

In return for assisting with the bribe transaction, Singer paid Fox $100,000. Fox arranged additional similar bribes, on two occasions, with a varsity sports coach at the University of San Diego (USD).

In exchange for a bribe paid through Fox, the USD coach designated the son of one of Singer’s clients, who did not play the sport, as an athletic recruit for the team, thereby facilitating his admission to USD. Singer paid Fox $100,000 for arranging the bribe.

In 2017, in exchange for the promise of another bribe, the varsity coach designated another student as a recruit to manage the coach’s team, thereby facilitating her admission to USD.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Although the student ultimately decided not to attend USD, Singer paid the varsity coach $10,000 for his help.

The Scandal

As GoLocalProv reported back in April, 13 parents charged in the college admissions scandal will plead guilty to using bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities.

Rhode Island's Gordie Ernst, the former Georgetown, and University of Rhode Island tennis coach, has pled not guilty to charges tied to this investigation.

The following defendants were charged in an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud and have agreed to plead guilty pursuant to plea agreements:

• Gregory Abbott, 68, of New York, N.Y., together with his wife, Marcia, agreed to pay Singer $125,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their daughter;
• Marcia Abbott, 59, of New York, N.Y.;
• Jane Buckingham, 50, of Beverly Hills, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $50,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
• Gordon Caplan, 52, of Greenwich, Conn., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
• Robert Flaxman, 62, of Laguna Beach, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
• Felicity Huffman, 56, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer at least $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her oldest daughter;
• Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, of San Francisco, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to participate in both the college entrance exam cheating scheme and the college recruitment scheme for his daughter;
• Marjorie Klapper, 50, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for her son;
• Peter Jan Sartorio, 53, of Menlo Park, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $15,000 to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter;
• Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $400,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son; and
• Devin Sloane, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Singer $250,000 to participate in the college recruitment scheme for his son.

 

In addition, Bruce Isackson, 61, and Davina Isackson, 55, of Hillsborough, Calif., were charged in a separate Information and have both agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce Isackson will also plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS, according to the U.S. Attorney.

The Isackson's agreed to pay Singer an amount, ultimately totaling $600,000, to participate in the college entrance exam cheating scheme for their younger daughter and the college recruitment scheme for both of their daughters.

The Isackson's also underpaid their federal income taxes by deducting the bribe payments as purported charitable contributions. The Isackson's are cooperating with the government’s investigation.

Michael Center, 54, of Austin, Texas, the former head coach of men’s tennis at the University of Texas at Austin, was charged in a third Information and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. In 2015, Center personally accepted $60,000 in cash from Singer, as well as $40,000 directed to the University of Texas tennis program, in exchange for designating the child of one of Singer’s clients as a tennis recruit, thereby facilitating his admission to the University of Texas