A former fundster chief is being sent to prison in the college admissions scandal.

Douglas Michael Hodge

Today a federal judge in Boston sentenced Doug Hodge to nine months in federal prison, the longest prison term so far in the scandal, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal report. On top that, Hodge's sentence also includes: 500 hours of community service; supervised release for two years; and a $750,000-fine. (Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Hodge to two years in prison. Before Hodge, the longest sentence handed down in the scandal was six months.)

Hodge, a retired ex-CEO of Pimco, turned himself in to the feds last March after being charged in the scandal, which centered on a man who helped wealthy parents (like Hodge) get their kids into prestigious colleges and universities. Hodge was released on $500,000 bail.

Last October, Hodge pled guilty for conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. According to prosecutors, Hodge paid $850,000 over the course of more than a decade for help with four of his kids' college admissions. Hodge is accused of bribing USC soccer coaches to get a daughter in (despite that daughter allegedly never joining the soccer team), paying to falsify a son's athletic profiles, bribing a Georgetown tennis coach to get a different daughter in.

Prosecutors also claimed that Hodge involved his kids in the scandal by telling them to "stay under the radar," but Hodge's lawyers countered to Hodge took "great steps" to hide the whole situation from the kids. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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