Man pleads guilty to taking tests in college scam

1:05 pm | April 12, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

4:37 PM ET

ESPN news service

The man who took entrance exams for high school students as part of a college admissions cheating scandal pleaded guilty Friday and faces prison time.

Mark Riddell, who appeared in federal court in Boston, is alleged to have taken the ACT and SAT for students whose parents conspired with college admissions consultant Rick Singer.

Riddell is the former director of college entrance exams for IMG Academy, a prep school in Florida that specializes in sports and producing elite athletes. Riddell has been suspended from that role.

Riddell faces prison time and the forfeiture of nearly a quarter-million dollars for the two criminal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, honest services mail fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection to his alleged involvement in the scheme.

According to prosecutors, Riddell would not only take tests for students, but he was also able to determine exactly how many questions he would have to get right or wrong in order to achieve a given score.

Riddell, 36, previously apologized for his role in the scheme.

“I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my needless actions. I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process.

“I will always regret the choices I made, but I also believe that the more than one thousand students I legitimately counseled, inspired, and helped reach their goals in my career will paint a more complete picture of the person I truly am.”

Riddell will become the latest to enter a guilty plea in the case, as 14 parents — including actress Felicity Huffman — entered their respective guilty pleas earlier this week.

In addition to the allegations of falsified test scores, indictments against Singer also allege he bribed college coaches with large and varying sums of money to tell their school’s admissions department that the students were prospective athletes, even though in most cases the student in question did not play a sport.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.