HOUSTON — One of the Houstonians indicted in a nationwide college admissions scandal will plead guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Martin Fox, the former president of a private tennis academy in Houston, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Prosecutors say Fox, 62, introduced Rick Singer, the mastermind of the scheme, to UT men’s tennis coach Michael Center. Center is accused of accepting a bribe to help get a student accepted to UT.
Singer paid Fox a total of $210,000 for his role in the UT scheme and two other cases involving the University of San Diego.
Federal prosecutors will ask for a sentence of one year of supervised released, along with a fine and restitution.
Another Houstonian, Lisa “Niki” Williams, 44, was also indicted for conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Williams was a test administrator for the College Board and ACT.
She is accused of accepting bribes and allowing someone other than a student to take the college entrance exam.
The students’ parents were Singer’s clients.
Federal authorities say for nearly a decade, Singer ran a scheme that allowed wealthy parents to cheat the admissions process so their kids could be accepted to eight elite schools.
College athletic coaches were also part of it, pretending that students were athletic recruits, to help with admissions, when in fact, some students did not ever play for the schools, competitively.
Singer is the founder of a college preparation business based in California. Court documents allege that parents paid Singer between $15,000 and $75,000 per test, for someone else to take the SAT or ACT exams, in place of their sons or daughters.
Singer also advised some students to seek quote "extended time on the exams, including by having their children purport to have learning disabilities, in order to obtain medical documentation.”
Big names, including Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, are among some of the parents and 50 people charged.
Huffman pleaded guilty and is serving a 14-day sentence.
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