West Hollywood School Head To Plead Guilty In Admissions Scandal
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - The director of a small, private school in West Hollywood is pleading guilty for his role in the nationwide college admissions scandal, admitting that he accepted bribes from parents to help fix standardized test scores.
Igor Dvorskiy, director of the West Hollywood College Preparatory School, agreed to plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and he is expected to enter the plea no later than Nov. 20, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court in Boston Tuesday.
The 52-year-old Dvorskiy, who lives in Sherman Oaks, also agreed to cooperate with the government's investigation and to testify in court if called, according to a supplemental document. He also agreed to forfeit $150,000.
Dvorskiy is accused of accepting bribes to help parents rig their children's scores on SAT and ACT exams. Authorities say he received $10,000 per student while administering tests at his school.
Prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of 24 to 30 months in prison.
West Hollywood College Preparatory is a nonprofit K-12 school located at 1317 N. Crescent Heights Blvd. The school principal is Dr. Elina Dvorskaya, Igor's mother.
On March 12, the FBI charged 51 people — including 33 parents and nine coaches — in a massive bribery scheme in which wealthy families paid millions to Newport Beach businessman Rick Singer to help their children cheat on standardized tests and bribe test administrators and college coaches to help get their kids into top universities like UCLA, USC, Yale, Stanford and Georgetown. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among those charged.
Last month, Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison for paying a $15,000 bribe to have a proctor correct her daughter's SAT answers.
Also sentenced last month was 53-year-old Devin Sloane, a Los Angeles business executive whose son attended the private Buckley School in Sherman Oaks. He was sentenced to four months in federal prison for paying a quarter-million-dollar bribe to get his son admitted to USC as a fake water polo recruit.
Loughlin is among 19 parents who are fighting the allegations. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have pleaded not guilty to federal conspiracy and money-laundering charges in the scandal and are awaiting trial. They are accused of paying $500,000 in bribes so their two daughters would be designated as recruits to the USC crew team, even though neither ever rowed crew. Both daughters are still enrolled at USC, but have not attended class since the scandal broke.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
