Media exec whose family owned a host of Midwest TV stations pleads guilty in college admissions scandal after paying Rick Singer $525,000 to get her children into Georgetown and University of Southern California

A media executive has agreed to plead guilty to participating in the college admissions fraud scandal after she paid $525,000 to win admission for her children to top universities.

Elisabeth Kimmel, the former owner and president of San Diego-based Midwest Television, had been scheduled to go to trial in September in Boston alongside three other wealthy parents charged in the nationwide 'Varsity Blues' scandal.

Kimmel, 57, will instead become the 32nd parent to admit to their role in the entangled scheme that ensnared dozens of multi-millionaires and several celebrities hoping to use their money and influence to give their kids an unfair advantage. 

Prosecutors said Kimmel paid California college admissions consultant William 'Rick' Singer $275,000 in 2012 to help win her daughter a place at Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, with the help of coach Gordon Ernst.

Kimmel also paid Singer $250,000 in 2017 to help her son get into the University of Southern California as a pole vault recruit.

Kimmel sold the KFMB TV and radio stations that she inherited from her father for about $325 million in 2018. In March 2019, the federal indictment against her and 51 other defendants in the bribery scheme were unsealed. 

It's unclear if Kimmel knew federal charges were in her future when she sold the company.   

Elisabeth Kimmel , pictured leaving the Moakley Courthouse in Boston in March 2019 after her hearing associated with the College Admissions scandal, agreed to plead guilty on Thursday 

She's scheduled to appear in front of the judge on Monday and will admit to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud and agree to spend six weeks in prison plus one year in home confinement.

The La Jolla, California, resident also agreed to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 500 hours of community service. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. 

While it's unclear exactly how much money Kimmel is worth, records show that she owns a $7million mansion in California and bought an 8,000 square foot Las Vegas penthouse in August 2018 for $5.5million.  

Singer pleaded guilty in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and using bribery to secure the admission of students to colleges as fake athletic recruits. 

The scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple federal charges

Prosecutors have accused Ernst of accepting $2.7million in bribes from Singer to help students enter Georgetown. 

His lawyer in court on Tuesday said he was nearing a plea deal.  

Kimmel was one of 57 people charged in the far-reaching college admissions bribery scheme - nickname 'Operation Varsity Blues' - where wealthy parents conspired with Singer to fraudulently secure their children's college admissions.

Among the parents who infamously pleaded guilty are 'Desperate Housewives' star Felicity Huffman and 'Full House' star Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli. 

Several others continue to fight the charges.

Loughlin and her husband admitted to their roles in the scheme last May when they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. 

Loughlin was sentenced to two months in jail and Giannulli was sentenced to five months behind bars. 

Giannulli and Loughlin's plea deals came after months of them insisting they had done no wrong. 

They suddenly changed their tune as COVID-19 swept the prison system and triggered early releases. 

Neither of them gave explanations for their sudden change of heart. 

Since her parents' guilty plea, their daughter Olivia Jade Giannuli, 21, has complained about being 'publicly shamed' in a March TikTok video.

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Loughlin and Giannulli initially pleaded not guilty, claiming they believed they were making a legitimate contribution to USC with their $500,000 payment to Singer

Mark Hauser recommended Rick Singer to Lori Loughlin , according to Loughlin's lawyer

Mark Hauser, 60, the founder of a private equity firm, admitted to paying $40,000 to have someone secretly correct his daughter's ACT exam answers. He was sentenced in May to two months in prison. 

Lawyers representing Loughlin and Giannulli pointed the finger at Hauser, saying he was the one who recommended they work with Singer.  

Huffman was one of the first people to plead guilty in the scheme, where she admitted to paying $15,000 to rig her daughter's SAT test scores. 

She spent 11 days of a two-week jail sentence actually behind bars and landed an acting role about a year later. 

In March, Netflix released a feature-length documentary about the investigation. 

'Varsity Blues' included some Hollywood A-listers but handed out slap-on-the-wrist punishments for the rich and famous

Lori Loughlin  

Two months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine

Mossimo Giannulli  

Five months in prison; two years supervised release, 100 hours of community service, $150,000 fine

Felicity Huffman got 14 days

Felicity Huffman 

14 days prison, 1 year supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $30,000 

Mark Hauser

Two months in prison, three years of supervised release, fine of $250,000 and 300 hours of community service 

Douglas Hodge

Nine months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $750,000, 500 hours of community service

Douglas Hodge got the longest sentence: nine months

Gregory Abbott 

1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000

Marcia Abbott 

1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $45,000

Jane Buckingham 

3 weeks in prison, 1 year of supervised release, fine of $40,000

Gordon Caplan

1 month prison, 1 year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000  

Robert Flaxman 

1 month in prison, 1 year of supervised released,  250 hours of community service, fine of $50,000

Agustin Huneus Jr. 

5 months in prison, 2 years of supervised release, 500 hours of community service, $100,000 fine 

Marjorie Klapper 

Three weeks in prison, one year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500

Peter Jan Sartorio 

One year probation, 250 hours of community service, fine of $9,500 

Stephen Semprevivo 

Four months in prison, 2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $100,000 

Devin Sloane 

4 months in prison,  2 years supervised release, 500 hours of community service, fine of $95,000  

Toby Macfarlane 

6 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, 200 hours of community service, fine of $150,000

Jeffrey Bizzack 

2 months in prison, 3 years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service per year of supervised release, fine of $250,000  

Michael Center 

Six months in prison, one year of supervised release, $60,000 forfeiture  

John Vandemoer

One day in jail, two years supervised released with the first six months in home confinement, fine of $10,000 

Karen Littlefair

Five weeks in prison, two years supervised release, 300 hours of community service, fine of $209,000

Martin Fox

Three months in prison, 15 months of supervised release with the first three months in home confinement, fine of $95,000, forfeiture of $245,000 and 250 hours of community service

Jorge Salcedo

Eight months in prison, one year of supervised release and forfeiture of $200,000

Niki Williams

One year of probation and forfeiture of $12,500

Peter Dameris

One day in jail, three years of supervised release, fine of $95,000 and 12 months of home confinement

David Sidoo

90 days in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000

Diane Blake

Six weeks in jail, two years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service and a fine of $125,000

Todd Blake

Four months in jail, two years of supervised release, 100 hours of community service and a fine of $125,000 

Elizabeth Henriquez

Seven months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $200,000 and 300 hours of community service 

Manuel  Henriquez

Six months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $200,000 and 200 hours of community service

Douglas Hodge

Nine months in prison, two years of supervised release, fine of $75,000 and 500 hours of community service

Michelle Janavs

Five months in jail, two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine

William McGlashan

Three months in jail, two years of supervised release, $250,000 fine and 250 hours of community service