VARSITY BLUES

Ex-Media CEO Gets Six Weeks in the Slammer for College Admissions Scandal

Elisabeth Kimmel became the 29th parent to be sentenced in the bribery scandal, having agreed to pay more than $500,000 to get her two children into elite universities.

The former czar of a television company was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment on Thursday after prosecutors said she paid more than $500,000 to get her children into elite universities. Elisabeth Kimmel, 57, became the 29th parent to be sentenced in the nationwide college admissions bribery plot. Under the terms of a plea deal, she will also serve two years of probation with the first year spent in home confinement, 500 hours of community service, and a fine of $250,000.

Kimmel previously owned and operated Midwest Television Inc., a company her grandfather founded. She shelled out $275,000 to get her daughter into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though her daughter was not a competitive athlete, according to the Department of Justice. She also paid $250,000 to get her son into the University of Southern California as a pole vaulter, despite his total lack of pole vaulting experience. Kimmel pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Her attorneys described her as “intensely remorseful” and “mortified at her own involvement in this scandal and the harm it has caused.”