A tennis coach who worked with the family of former President Barack Obama was among the 50 people charged Tuesday in a college admissions scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed coaches and others to get their children accepted to some of the top schools in the U.S.
Gordon Ernst, 52, was a former tennis coach at Georgetown University and the University of Rhode Island. He is accused of conspiracy to commit racketeering while he was at Georgetown.
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Ernst was at Georgetown from 2012 to 2017 and was the personal instructor of former first lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, Sasha and Malia, according to the Providence Journal. None of the Obamas are implicated in the scandal in any way.
Ernst allegedly accepted nearly $3 million in bribes and in return helped a dozen students get onto the Georgetown’s tennis team, including kids who didn’t actually play the sport in a competitive fashion, according to the New York Post.
The scam was run by William Singer, who helped parents get their children’s college admissions through bribes, according to court documents. Singer, an admissions consulting company founder, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court to charges including racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice. – READ MORE