University of Southern California. Courtesy photoFormer Head of Napa Valley Wine Empire Pleads Guilty in 'Varsity Blues' Case
Agustin Huneeus Jr., 53, former head of Huneeus Vintners, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to pay $300,000 to participate in schemes to boost his daughter's college entrance exam scores and to help her gain admission at the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit.
May 21, 2019 at 06:20 PM
3 minute read
Agustin Huneeus Jr., the former head of a Napa Valley wine empire, has pleaded guilty to charges related to his role in the nationwide college admissions scandal that ensnared everyone from entertainers to law firm leaders earlier this year.
At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of the District of Massachusetts on Tuesday, Huneeus, 53, pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay William “Rick” Singer $300,000 to participate in both a scheme to boost his daughter's college entrance exam scores and to help her gain admission at the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit. According to the terms of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors will recommend a 15-month prison sentence for Huneeus, one year of supervised release, a fine of $55,000, restitution and forfeiture.
Huneeus is represented by Jeremy Sternberg of Holland & Knight in Boston and William Keane of Farella Braun + Martel in San Francisco. A spokesman for Huneeus responded to messages seeking comment from his lawyers.
“With my plea today, I am taking full responsibility for my wrongful actions,” Huneeus said in the statement. “Today's plea was an important step in my effort to take responsibility and accept the consequences for acts that I deeply regret, and I hope that with time and effort I will be able to earn back the respect of the people whose trust I have betrayed.”
Federal prosecutors in Boston charged Huneeus, of San Francisco, alongside defendants including Hollywood actress Felicity Huffman and former Willkie Farr & Gallagher co-chair Gordon Caplan. In a criminal complaint filed in March, prosecutors claimed that Huneeus participated in a college entrance exam cheating scheme spearheaded by Singer, who used his connections to athletic programs and coaches around the country to secure admissions for underqualified students through his Newport Beach, California-based companies The Edge College & Career Network and the Key Worldwide Foundation.
Huneeus, who gave up control of his family wine business Huneeus Vintners to his octogenarian father in the wake of the criminal charges, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 4.
Also Tuesday, Caplan pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay Singer $75,000 to participate in the college entrance exam scheme for his daughter. According to the terms of Caplan's plea deal, federal prosecutors will recommend a sentence at the low end of the guidelines sentencing range of one year of supervised release, a fine of $40,000, restitution and forfeiture.
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