Parent in College Admissions Case Pleads Guilty

BOSTON – A parent in the college admissions case has pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston.

David Sidoo, 60, of Vancouver, Canada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton who scheduled sentencing for July 15, 2020.  Sidoo pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.  As part of the plea, Sidoo has agreed to a sentence that includes 90 days in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In 2011, Sidoo agreed to pay $100,000 to have a co-conspirator, Mark Riddell, secretly take the SAT in place of his older son.  The following year, Sidoo agreed to pay $100,000 to have Riddell take the SAT in place of his younger son. 

Case information, including the status of each defendant, charging documents and plea agreements are available here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.

The charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud provides for a sentence of up 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright and Kristen A. Kearney of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

###