San Diego

San Diegan Arrested in College Admissions Scandal Appears in Court

A San Diegan arrested by the FBI in connection with the college admissions cheating scandal appeared in court Monday.

Elisabeth Kimmel, former owner of KFMB-TV, San Diego’s CBS affiliate, was ordered to give up her passport as part of a $500,000 "no-cash deposit" bond package and agreed to show up in federal court in Boston later this month.

She appeared in court with her husband, a former San Diego County deputy district attorney who is not charged in the case.

Kimmel was arrested last Tuesday at her home on La Jolla Rancho Road, FBI spokeswoman Davene Butler told NBC 7.

She is accused of participating in an illegal conspiracy to get her daughter into Georgetown University and her son into USC.

Her daughter’s application to Georgetown stated that she was a “ranked player” in Southern California Junior Tennis during high school, according to the criminal complaint (pages 143-153). But prosecutors said the U.S. Tennis Association, which operates the Junior Tennis program, has no record of the daughter’s participation in that elite program.

The complaint notes that Kimmel’s daughter entered Georgetown in 2013 and graduated in 2017. She was not a member of the tennis team at the university. Prosecutors allege that Kimmel and her spouse used their family’s charitable foundation to funnel $275,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation, controlled by the alleged ringleader of the scheme, William Rick Singer

Kimmel’s son’s application described him as a three-year varsity letterman in track and field as well as one of the top pole vaulters in California, according to the complaint. Prosecutors say there was no school record of Kimmel’s son participating in track and field in high school.

The complaint alleges that defendant Laura Janke created an athletic profile for Kimmel’s son that “falsely described (him) as an elite high school pole vaulter” and included a photo of a pole vaulter said to be Kimmel’s son, but which in fact showed another, unrelated athlete.

According to the complaint, Kimmel’s son did not know he’d been admitted to USC as a recruited athlete.

Prosecutors say Kimmel’s family charity issued a $200,000 check to the Key Worldwide Foundation in February, 2018. The Kimmel-controlled charity also allegedly paid $50,000 to the USC Women’s Athletic Board, via a check written by Kimmel’s spouse. Kimmel’s son was admitted to USC in March, 2018.

In July, 2018, following their son’s visit to USC for orientation, the Kimmels were recorded on a wire-tapped phone call describing how their son was approached by a university advisor who asked about his participation in track and field.

Kimmel allegedly said, “So we have to hope this advisor doesn’t start poking around?” according to the complaint.

Kimmel hired former U.S. Attorney Greg Vega for the Southern District of California as her defense.

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