California Man Sentenced to Prison in College Scandal, DOJ Says

Second Parent Sentenced to Prison in College Admissions Case

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

BOSTON — A California businessman became the second parent to be sentenced to prison today in connection with his involvement in the college admissions case.

Devin Sloane, 53, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani to four months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to complete 500 hours of community service and pay a fine of $95,000. Sloane is the chief executive officer of AquaTecture, LLC, a privately held Los Angeles-based company involved in the water and wastewater industries. In May 2019, Sloane pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. The government recommended a sentence of one year and one day in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $75,000.

Sloane conspired with William “Rick” Singer and others to have his son admitted to the University of Southern California (USC) as a water polo recruit, even though his son did not play water polo. As part of the scheme, Sloane purchased water polo gear online, and photographed his son purporting to play water polo in the family swimming pool, later hiring a graphic design firm to manipulate the photos to make them appear more realistic. Sloane made a purported contribution of $200,000 to Singer's sham charity, Key Worldwide Foundation, and a $50,000 payment to USC Women's Athletics, a fund controlled by defendant Donna Heinel.

Previously, the first parent sentenced in the case, Felicity Huffman, was sentenced to two weeks in prison for her involvement in the scheme.

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.

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.