The first sentence in the U.S. college admissions scandal was handed down, and it’s one day in prison.
Former Stanford University sailing coach John Vandemoer, who will also have to serve six months of home confinement and pay a $10,000 fine, was “probably the least culpable of all of the defendants” because he didn’t personally profit from the scam, U.S. District Judge Rya Zobel said in federal court in Boston on Wednesday.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 13 months in prison for the former head coach, 41, who admitted to taking more than $500,000 in bribes for the sailing team in exchange for recruiting unqualified applicants to get them into Stanford.
His punishment, in the biggest scam of its kind in the U.S., may offer a hint of how judges will view the crimes of coaches, parents, test administrators and others snared through their connection to corrupt college consultant William “Rick” Singer. In all, 50 have been charged.
“I love you and I’m truly sorry,” Vandemoer said to his family before the judge pronounced his sentence. “I spent my life trying to be a good and moral person, but here I made a big mistake.”