Michelle Obama's Personal Tennis Instructor Charged in College Admissions Bribery Scheme

March 21, 2019 | by Maria Varela

Michelle, Sasha, and Malia Obama's former tennis trainer has been accused of taking part in a large-scale college bribery scheme. The former tennis coach of Georgetown University reportedly made $2.7 million by facilitating the admission of unqualified students.

The Obamas’ former tennis trainer has been implicated in a college bribery scheme, one of many discovered this week involving top US schools.

Georgetown University said it’s “deeply disappointed” to learn former tennis coach Gordon Ernst allegedly vouched for at least a dozen sham recruits at the school as part of a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal. https://t.co/6AUjIrnIx3
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) March 13, 2019

TENNIS COACH TURNED SHADY ADMISSIONS RECRUITER

52-year-old Gordon Ernst has been accused of using his position as Georgetown tennis coach to admit unqualified students to his college team and secure their entry into the institution. The former personal tennis instructor of Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama reportedly accepted bribes amounting to $2.7 million deposited in fake charitable accounts to facilitate the admission of 12 students. He was in the fraudulent business since 2012.

In 2017, Ernst was fired from Georgetown after school officials discovered “irregularities in his recruitment practices.” Rhode Island hired him a year later but placed him on administrative leave on Tuesday due to the scandal. The Obamas are in no way linked to the scheme

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL: Former @Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst accused of accepting $2.7 mil in bribes labeled "consulting fees" to designate 12 applicants tennis recruits. Indictment says some did not play tennis competitively. @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/NKGhieLUVy
— Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) March 12, 2019

THE MASTERMIND

Ernst conspired with mastermind William “Rick” Singer, a counselor in the university who went to great lengths to legitimize students’ applications. Also the owner of an admissions consulting company, he reportedly helped stage photos of students playing a particular sport to the point of using existing images of athletes and photoshopping the faces of the applicants on them. The large-scale scheme reportedly earned him over $25 million.

Singer has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and obstruction of justice and has pled guilty to them.

William Singer promoted himself as a college "life coach" -- wealthy families sought him out to boost test scores & to allegedly bribe coaches to get slots on athletic teams for their nonathletic children; he called it a "side door" into some of the US' most prestigious schools. pic.twitter.com/Oy5d6xcM4b
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 14, 2019

"Beyond the SAT and ACT scam, parents also paid Singer money that he then used to bribe coaches and administrators to designate their children as recruited athletes for various schools." https://t.co/uZWDx3DPyf pic.twitter.com/NW0PfXgrpm
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) March 12, 2019

THE BRIBERY SCANDAL INVOLVING TWO PROMINENT CELEBRITIES

50 people were charged this week in what could be the biggest and most high-profile college bribery scandal to date. Among the wealthy parents who were charged were actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli were accused of paying half a million to get their two daughters into the University of Southern California. Meanwhile, Huffman whose husband is William H. Macy allegedly paid $15,000 to doctor her daughter’s SAT test.

Actresses Felicity Huffman & Lori Loughlin are among dozens of wealthy parents, elite college coaches & college prep executives accused of carrying out a nationwide fraud to get students into prestigious colleges, according to a massive federal indictment. https://t.co/Gi1o4DJqbO pic.twitter.com/JCNQF57djs
— CNN (@CNN) March 12, 2019

Loughlin surrendered herself to authorities after returning from Canada where she was filming a Hallmark movie. She and her husband both posted bail of $1 million each. Huffman was also arrested and was released after posting a $250k bail.