College-admissions scam middleman sentenced to 3 months in prison

Photo: Public Domain Pictures

Nov. 15 (UPI) — Martin Fox, a Texas sports coach who pleaded guilty in November to racketeering conspiracy in a cash-for-admissions scheme that defrauded several elite schools, has been sentenced to three months in prison and three months of home detention followed by a year of supervised release.

The Department of Justice announced Friday that Fox, 63, of Houston, must also complete 250 hours of community service and pay a fine of $95,000 and forfeit assets in the amount of $245,000.

By his own admission, Fox served as a middleman between William “Rick” Singer, a Newport Beach college consultant at the heart of a college admissions scheme, and several university coaches and a teaching consultant Singer attempted to bribe.

According to prosecutors, in 2014, Fox offered Michael Center, who was at the time a tennis coach at the University of Texas-Austin, $80,000 to $100,000 to recruit a child of one of Singer’s clients, though the child did not play tennis.

Singer and Center have also pleaded guilty to federal charges, and Singer is awaiting sentencing, while Center wrapped a six-month prison sentence in October.

Fox also helped Singer pull off a recruiting scam at the University of San Diego, according to prosecutors. He also participated in a scheme to let the children of his clients take permission to take ACTs and SATs in the classroom of Lisa “Niki” Williams, a private proctor who provided them with the right answers or corrected their responses after they had finished.

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