BOSTON — A California woman accused of paying a company $9,000 to take online classes for her son at Georgetown University has pleaded guilty.
Karen Littlefair entered the plea Wednesday in federal court in Boston after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
She agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Authorities say she hired a consultant to have four classes taken on behalf of her son so he could graduate from Georgetown.
Prosecutors say they will recommend four months behind bars and a fine. The case is part of a college admissions scandal that has ensnared dozens of wealthy parents.
Littlefair isn't the only Georgetown parent to be caught up in the cheating scandal.
Stephen Semprevivo, 53, of Los Angeles, Calif., agreed to pay Georgetown former tennis coach Gordon Ernst $400,000 for his son to attend the university. He also pleaded guilty to the charge that he faced.
The same federal investigation that exposed the illegal practics by Littlefair and Semprevivo, also helped land actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin in legal trouble.
Huffman, who already served 14-days in jail for her guilty plea, admitted to paying to cheat on her daughter's SAT test. "Full House" actress Lori Loughlin was also charged and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli have also been charged. Loughlin has pleaded not guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges and remains free on bail.
Huffman was the first parent to be sentenced in the case. Several other parents have since been sentenced, with sentences ranging from probation to five months in prison. The FBI probe, dubbed "Operation Varsity Blues," found several parents involved in a scheme to pay Rick Singer to get their children into colleges by either boosting their SAT scores or helping them pretend to be top athletes. Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California were all named as colleges involved.