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Prosecutors Urge Longer Sentences For Atherton Couple In College Admissions Scandal

ATHERTON (CBS SF) – A Bay Area couple is facing the harshest sentences yet among the parents who have pleaded guilty in the college admissions scandal.

According to the Los Angeles Times, federal prosecutors are recommending an 18-month prison sentence for venture capitalist Manuel Henriquez of Atherton. His wife, Elizabeth Henriquez is being recommended a 26-month sentence.

The couple admitted to conspiring with consultant Rick Singer to rig their two daughters' college entrance exams. Prosecutors said they also paid $400,000 to get their daughter into Georgetown University as a tennis recruit.

Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez AP Photo
Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez arrive at federal court in Boston on Wednesday, April 3, 2019, to face charges in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Prosecutors called the couple, along with former PIMCO CEO Douglas Hodge and heiress Michelle Janavs, "far and away the most culpable" in the scandal, arguing that they committed crimes repeatedly and over an extended period of time, the Times reported.

Other parents who have entered guilty pleas in the scandal have received shorter sentences, including actress Felicity Huffman, who spent 11 days at the Federal Correctional Institute in Dublin last year for her role in the scandal.

Manuel and Elizabeth Henriquez are scheduled to be sentenced in March.

 

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