Hot Pockets Heiress Gets 5 Months In Prison In College Admissions Scam

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) - An Orange County heiress to the Hot Pockets fortune has been sentenced to five months in prison for trying to cheat and bribe her two daughters' way into college as part of a college cheating scam.

Michelle Janavs was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Boston after apologizing for her role in a scandal that has embroiled USC, UCLA, and other top universities across the country. Prosecutors had sought 21 months behind bars.

Janavs apologized for trying to create an unfair advantage for her children. Her lawyers portrayed her as a dedicated mother and philanthropist who fell for "manipulative sales tactics."

The Newport Coast woman paid $400,000 to get her son admitted to Georgetown University as a fake tennis recruit in 2017. She separately paid $100,000 to help two of her daughters cheat on the ACT exam in 2017 and 2019, prosecutors said.

Janavs is a former executive of Chef America Inc., a food producer that created the Hot Pocket frozen snack.

More than a dozen other parents, including "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman previously pleaded guilty as part of plea agreements. Prosecutors agreed to request lighter sentences for those parents since they took responsibility earlier.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)