Pimco ex-CEO faces prison in U.S. college admissions bribery scheme

[February 07, 2020]  By Peter Szekely

(Reuters) - The former head of asset management firm Pimco faces two years in prison if prosecutors get their way when he is sentenced on Friday for his part in a scheme in which privileged parents paid bribes to get their children into U.S. colleges.

Douglas Hodge, who prosecutors called among "the most culpable" of 35 parents charged, would become the 15th person to be sentenced since the nationwide cheating scandal came to light last March.

While the other 14 defendants received prison terms ranging from one day to six months, prosecutors said Hodge and three others who entered guilty pleas in October deserve stiffer sentences.

"They are repeat players, who engaged in the conspiracy again and again, over years," Boston U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in a sentencing memo this week.

Hodge, who retired as chief executive of Allianz SE's <ALVG.DE> California-based Pimco in 2016, paid bribes totaling $850,000 over nearly 11 years to get two of his children into Georgetown University and two others into the University of Southern California, prosecutors said.

He tried and failed to offer bribes to get a fifth child into Loyola Marymount University, they said.

Prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton to impose a sentence of 24 months, which they called the low end of range that runs up to 30 months under sentencing guidelines.

In all, 53 people have been charged in the college admissions scandal, including "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman and "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin. Huffman pleaded guilty and served less than two weeks in prison, while Loughlin pleaded not guilty.

Douglas Hodge, former PIMCO CEO, arrives at the federal courthouse for a hearing in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

The case revolves around consultant William "Rick" Singer, who admitted in March that he facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and bribed sports coaches to present his clients' children as fake athletic recruits.

Singer, who has yet to be sentenced, is cooperating with prosecutors.

Hodge's lawyers sought leniency, citing his philanthropy, devotion to his children and Singer's deception in telling him that his money would go toward university programs and underprivileged student athletes.

Hodge insisted, contrary to a prosecution claim, that he never involved his children in the scheme. He admitted that he did not pull out of the scheme once he learned of Singer's deception.

"For that, I am deeply ashamed and remorseful," he wrote in a letter to the judge.

Hodge's lawyers asked the judge to consider splitting incarceration with home detention, along with supervised release, a fine and a "robust community service program."

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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