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Law360 (March 31, 2020, 4:56 PM EDT) -- The ongoing coronavirus pandemic will not stop a federal judge from sending parents convicted in the "Varsity Blues" college admissions case to prison, he said Tuesday as he sentenced a mother who pled guilty in the scheme to seven months behind bars.
Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez exit court after entering guilty pleas in the "Varsity Blues" case in October. A judge sentenced Elizabeth Henriquez to seven months in prison Tuesday, and her husband is set for sentencing in April. (Chris Villani | Law360)
During a rare sentencing hearing conducted by video conference, Judge Gorton said Henriquez's conduct is deserving of prison time and made it clear the pandemic would not keep people out of jail if he feels that is where they should be.
"I am cognizant that we are in an unprecedented situation and I understand her concern," Judge Gorton said. "That said, although we are indeed in the midst of a public health crisis, I will not forfeit the obligation of a federal judge to impose a sentence that is warranted by the defendant's conduct."
In this case, Judge Gorton said the proper punishment is seven months in prison along with 300 hours of community service and a $200,000 fine. Prosecutors pushed for a "meaningful" prison term but said they would not oppose Henriquez putting off her report date as the pandemic plays out.
The judge said she should report to prison on June 30, but left the door open to extending that date if needed.
"I have every hope the COVID crisis will abate within a period of months and Ms. Henriquez will be able to serve her sentence safely," Judge Gorton said.
Henriquez and her attorney, Aaron Katz of Ropes & Gray LLP, cited the pandemic in asking that she serve a sentence of probation and home confinement. A month ago, Katz said the defense would have asked for around five months in prison, but the world has changed over the past month.
"We are in the midst of an unprecedented, unexpected health crisis," Katz said, citing the death of a 47-year-old federal inmate over the weekend that was caused by COVID-19. He argued that simply delaying her report date is not enough to keep her safe.
"It is entirely conceivable that federal prison might not be a safe place for Elizabeth until there is a vaccine," which could be more than a year away, Katz said.
Henriquez wept as she asked for mercy from Judge Gorton, pleading with him to remember her two children. Her husband, Manuel, also pled guilty in connection with the schemes and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
"I feel so much shame," Elizabeth Henriquez said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen called the Henriquezes among the most culpable parents sentenced so far in the high-profile case. They paid William "Rick" Singer to help their two daughters cheat on college admissions tests a total of five times, Rosen said, and agreed to shell out $400,000 so Singer and former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst could have their older daughter admitted to the school as a fake recruit.
Ernst has also been charged in the case and is still fighting the charges.
Katz tried to counter Rosen's argument by saying that Singer lied to the Henriquezes about the nature of the payment, painting it as a donation rather than a bribe.
"He described this as completely legitimate, the way all non-revenue sports raise money," Katz said. "Singer never told Elizabeth, not once, that in fact he and Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst were going to put that $400,000 donation directly into their pockets."
That argument, highlighted by FBI reports that the parents say show Singer was told to lie to help the government make its case, is a centerpiece of a motion to dismiss filed by actress Lori Loughlin and others still fighting federal prosecutors.
Henriquez's sentence ranks among the longest issued in the case and is only two months shorter than the nine-month term issued to former Pimco CEO Douglas Hodge. Hodge is appealing that sentence due to the allegations that Singer was pressed to lie.
Tuesday's hearing was a first for the district in that it took place over video conference with the press and public listening in over the telephone. While Judge Gorton sat in a mostly empty courtroom, Henriquez was on the opposite side of the country in California and her attorney, Katz, was also thousands of miles away.
As has been the case in other hearings, there were a few unusual technical glitches, with parties forgetting to take their phones or laptops off "mute" before speaking and one attorney unwittingly giving out his telephone number to those listening in.
The attorneys and Henriquez were also not sure whether they should stand when addressing Judge Gorton, since doing so would take them out of the view of the cameras. The judge told them it was fine to remain seated.
A recently entered order by Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV allows for video sentencing hearings to continue to take place during the crisis as long as the defendant does not object, which Henriquez did not.
On Tuesday, one of the parents still fighting "Varsity Blues" charges asked to be severed from the case, arguing federal prosecutors were improperly trying to "shoehorn" him in with Loughlin and the others. John Wilson argued in a filing that his son really was academically and athletically qualified for the University of Southern California and that his $200,000 donation to the school went to official university accounts, not to private hands.
Years later, prosecutors instructed Singer to tell Wilson to donate to Singer's charity to help Wilson's daughters' college prospects, he argued, paving the way for his indictment on fraud and bribery charges. Wilson argued he should be tried separately from the other parents of USC students. His lawyer and a government representative did not immediately respond to comment requests Tuesday afternoon.
The government is represented by Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O'Connell, Leslie A. Wright and Kristen A. Kearney of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
Elizabeth Henriquez is represented by Aaron M. Katz, Colleen A. Conry and Laura Gaffney Hoey of Ropes & Gray LLP.
John Wilson is represented by Andrew E. Tomback, Michael Kendall and Yakov Malkiel of White & Case LLP.
The case is U.S. v. Sidoo et al., case number 1:19-cr-10080, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
--Editing by Orlando Lorenzo.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
