Former USD father sentenced
Flaxman earns one month in prison for doctoring his daughter’s ACT scores
Luke Garrett / News Editor / The USD Vista
Robert Flaxman, father of a former USD engineering student, was sentenced to a month in prison Friday for his involvement in the “Varsity Blues” college admission scandal, according to the Department of Justice.
The nationwide scandal consisted of wealthy parents getting their children into mid-range and elite universities through doctored test scores and fake athletic profiles. Felicity Huffman, star of the television drama “Desperate Housewives,” was the first parent to be sentenced in the “Varsity Blues” scandal. She was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison for paying $15,000 to alter her daughter’s SAT scores.
Flaxman’s lawyers made a last-minute attempt to evade prison time by arguing he was less “noxious” than other parents involved, The Los Angeles Times reported. The prosecutor and judge disagreed.
Flaxman, a Los Angeles real estate developer, pled guilty to paying $75,000 to William “Rick” Signer in exchange for a rigged increase of his daughter’s ACT scores, which were sent to the University of San Diego, among other similar schools.
The University of San Diego received little-to-no mention during the sentencing hearing or in news coverage, despite its frequent presence in the initial Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment.
The March indictment against Flaxman concerned his son and daughter, Martin Fox, and Singer. According to the DOJ, Fox facilitated bribes allegedly paid for by Flaxman and received by former USD men’s basketball head coach Lamont Smith. In return for the payments, Smith allegedly designated the son and daughter of Flaxman as a basketball recruit and manager, respectively.
Flaxman’s children both gained admission, but only his son attended USD as an Industrial and Systems Engineering major for three years. The son was not included in the plea agreement, but no longer attends the university.
The 63-year-old developer is the 1oth person to be sentenced out of the 15 other parents who pled guilty to involvement in the “Varsity Blues” scandal. In court filings, his lawyer, William Weinreb, insisted that the judge look upon Flaxman differently, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Weinreb said his client’s intentions were not like those of other parents who wanted to give their privileged children an additional boost by buying admission into an elite school. The attorney argued that Flaxman was led by misguided hopes of admitting his daughter, who had a history of undisclosed troubles, into a mid-range college.
Singer convinced Flaxman that his daughter wouldn’t gain admission anywhere unless her ACT scores were increased, which led Flaxman to cheat, Weinreb argued. He said that this difference in intention does not deserve prison time.
The prosecutors reportedly rebutted with a similar argument many of the guilty parents face: prison time is needed for those who cheated the college admission process in order to boost their already privileged children.
In addition to the one month sentence, Flaxman must complete 250 hours of community service and pay $50,000 in fines.