A former private equity executive on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a federal charge in connection with the so-called Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, prosecutors said.
William E. McGlashan, Jr., 57, of California, entered his plea in federal court in Boston to a sole count of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, aiding and abetting, according to a statement from US Attorney Andrew E. Lelling’s office and legal filings. McGlashan’s legal team declined to comment.
Lelling’s office said McGlashan admitted to paying a $50,000 bribe to pad his son’s score on the ACT college entrance exam.
McGlashan, the statement said, is the 30th parent to plead guilty in connection with the case, in which parents were charged with paying bribes to the scheme’s admitted ringleader, William “Rick” Singer, to facilitate cheating on their kids’ ACT and SAT exams, or to have their children falsely designated as athletic recruits at selective colleges.
Under terms of McGlashan’s plea deal, Lelling’s office said, the parties have agreed to a sentence, subject to judicial approval, of three months in prison, two years of supervised release with 250 hours of community service, and a fine of $250,000. Prosecutors also dropped multiple additional charges under terms of the deal, records show.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 12. McGlashan remains free on bond until then.
Other big names jammed up in the scheme include Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman, who served less than two weeks behind bars for paying $15,000 to pad her daughter’s SAT score, and Lori Loughlin, who served a two-month sentence for her role in agreeing to pay bribes totaling $500,000 to get her daughters into USC as fake crew recruits.
Loughlin’s husband, the fashion mogul Mossimo Giannulli, is currently serving a five-month sentence for his role in the crew ruse.
A judge last month denied Giannulli’s request to serve the remainder of his prison term at home in the couple’s Los Angeles mansion.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.