LIST: These Bay Area residents have been charged in alleged college admissions scam

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Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Nearly a dozen Bay Area parents involved in college admissions scam
The Bay Area parents named in the college admissions bribery scheme were entrepreneurs, investors and even a vineyard owner.

SAN FRANCISCO -- More than a dozen Bay Area residents have been charged in the largest college admissions scandal ever prosecuted in the United States, with five expected to plead guilty so far.

RELATED: Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin among actresses, CEOs charged in alleged college admissions scam

Authorities say the operation, dubbed "Varsity Blues," uncovered 33 parents described by US Attorney Andrew Lelling as a "catalog of wealth and privilege" who collectively paid $25 million to a college admissions counselor named William Singer of Sacramento.

In exchange for the money, Singer allegedly bribed college officials, coaches and college entrance exam administrators, who then helped students secure admissions "not on their merits but through fraud," Lelling said.

RELATED: Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer among several in Bay Area charged in alleged college admissions scam

So who are the Bay Area residents charged in this scandal? Here's what we know about them and where their cases stand:

Todd & Diane Blake (Ross, CA)

Todd and Diane Blake leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
Todd and Diane Blake leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused Of: Agreeing to bribe a University of Southern California athletics official to get their daughter into the school as a purported volleyball recruit.

Status: Charged on conspiracy to commit money laundering & with conspiracy to commit mail & wire fraud. Released on bond, judge revoked their passports

The indictment describes Todd as an entrepreneur and investor and Diane as an executive at a retail merchandising firm.

Todd is also a former Ross School Board trustee.

Todd celebrated his daughter's admission to University of Southern California on Twitter back in March of 2018:

RELATED: Bay Area parents allegedly involved in college admissions scam worried exposure by media

Dr Gregory & Amy Colburn (Palo Alto)

Gregory and Amy Colburn leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
Gregory and Amy Colburn leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Paying $25,000 in order to boost their son's SAT scores. They were indicted on money laundering charges, in addition to mail fraud charges, after demanding a preliminary hearing.

Status: Charged on conspiracy to commit money laundering & with conspiracy to commit mail & wire fraud. Will plead not guilty.

Dr. Colburn is an oncologist in San Jose and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the Bay Area including O'Connor Hospital and VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

Manuel & Elizabeth Henriquez (Atherton)

Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez leave a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: According to the indictment, Henriquez and his wife "participated in the college entrance exam cheating scheme, on four separate occasions, for their two daughters. In addition, the couple allegedly conspired to bribe Gordon Ernst, the head tennis coach at Georgetown University, to designate their older daughter as a tennis coach at Georgetown University in order to facilitate her admission to the university." The indictment claims the family paid Ernst nearly $1 million for this designation. They've been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and Honest Services Mail fraud.

Status: Charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering & conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Released on bond, passports revoked. Stepped down as CEO of Silicon Valley investment group, Hercules Capital.

Manuel's LinkedIn profile describes him as founder, chairman and CEO of Silicon Valley investment firm, Hercules Capital. According to Bloomberg, he earned an estimated $8.2 million in 2017.

Agustin Huneeus Jr. (San Francisco)

Agustin Huneeus Jr. leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
Agustin Huneeus Jr. leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Conspiring to bribe an athletics official at the University of Southern California and the USC water polo coach to get his daughter into the school as a water polo recruit. He's also charged with participating in the college entrance exam cheating scheme.

Status: Will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud

Huneeus helps run Huneeus Vintners, the family's wine making company in Napa Valley.

According to the company's website, he graduated from University of California at Berkeley and helped launch Huneeus Vintners, "a company dedicated to building a portfolio of fine wine estates in which they have an ownership stake."

The company's current projects include wines under the Quintessa, Faust and Illumination labels.

Bruce & Davina Isackson (Hillsborough)

Bruce Isackson leaves a Boston, Mass. court house, right.
Bruce Isackson leaves a Boston, Mass. court house, right.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Transferred to Singer's bogus charity 2,150 shares of Facebook, worth $251,249, to get daughter into college as soccer recruit. Also transferred stocks worth $101,272 to help younger daughter with ACT exam and schemed to get her into USC as rowing recruit, "even though she was not competitive in rowing, but instead was an avid equestrian." After she was accepted to USC, Bruce transferred to Singer's foundation more shares of stock worth $249,420.

Status: Will both plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Bruce will also plead guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS.

Bruce is the president of WP Investments, a commercial real estate investment and development company based in Woodside. The company's website says he "graduated from UCLA in 1980, then joined Cushman and Wakefield, where he specialized in the leasing and sales of industrial properties. During his twelve years at Cushman, Mr. Isackson was consistently among the firm's top producers on a nationwide basis."

Marjorie Klapper (Menlo Park)

Marjorie Klapper leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
Marjorie Klapper leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Paying $15,000 to rig her son's ACT exam

Status: Agrees to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud

Klapper is co-owner of the M&M Bling jewelry business. According to local news blog InMenlo she launched the company in 2010 with a friend she met at a Stanford mother's group

William McGlashan (Mill Valley)

William McGlashan leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
William McGlashan leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Paying $250,000 to get son into USC as fake football recruit and cheat on son's ACT

Status: Charged on conspiracy to commit money laundering & with conspiracy to commit mail & wire fraud. Released on bond, judge denied request to allow him to go on family vacation abroad. Fired from job as head of Silicon Valley investment company, TPG Growth

William was a founder and managing partner at TPG Growth, a Silicon Valley investment firm that made landmark investments in companies like Uber and Airbnb. According to Recode, "McGlashan has positioned himself as a leading voice in Silicon Valley for social responsibility."

In 2017, Vanity Fair named Bill to its New Establishment list of the 100 most influential people in business, politics and technology.

Bill earned an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA with Honors from Yale University.

Marci Palatella (Hillsborough)

Marci Palatella leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
Marci Palatella leaves a Boston, Mass. court house.
KGO-TV

Accused of: Paying $175,000 to get son into USC as fake football recruit and cheat on son's SAT

Status:Charged on conspiracy to commit money laundering & with conspiracy to commit mail & wire fraud. Released on bond, passport revoked

Marci is the CEO of a liquor distribution company. On her Facebook page, it says she runs Preservation Distillery Bardstown in Kentucky and is from San Francisco.

According to an article from a Kentucky Business Journal, she's married to former San Francisco 49ers football legend Lou Palatella, who played for the team back in the 1950s.

Peter Jan "P.J." Sartorio (Menlo Park)

This undated image shows Peter Jan "P.J." Sartorio.
This undated image shows Peter Jan "P.J." Sartorio.

Accused of: Paying $15,000 in cash for the college entrance exam cheating scheme for his daughter

Status: Agrees to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.

Founder and President of Nate's and PJ's Foods, a South San Francisco company that produces and sells natural and organic frozen foods. He grew up in Northern California.

He's been charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and Honest Services Mail fraud.

John Vandemoer

Status: The former Stanford sailing coach pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges in a Boston federal courthouse on Tuesday.

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