Newport Beach mother pleads guilty to fraud conspiracy in college admissions scandal

A Newport Beach woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge after authorities said she paid a company $9,000 to take online classes for her son at Georgetown University.

Karen Littlefair, 57, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She previously agreed to the plea in a deal with prosecutors and is to be sentenced May 13.

The charge carries up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors said they will recommend four months and a $9,500 fine.

Littlefair is among more than 50 people charged in a college admissions scandal that ensnared dozens of wealthy parents. Many are accused of falsely portraying their children as athletic recruits to get them into elite universities, while others are alleged to have paid to rig their children’s SAT or ACT exams.

At the center of the case is Newport Beach college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer, who is accused of orchestrating the scheme and pleaded guilty last year.

Prosecutors say Littlefair hired Singer’s company to take four online classes on behalf of her son so he could graduate from Georgetown in 2018. Three of the courses were taken through Georgetown, prosecutors said, while one was taken online at Arizona State University and then transferred to Georgetown. Littlefair paid a total of about $9,200.

Her son graduated from the private university in Washington in May 2018. The school previously said it has the authority to revoke degrees if serious misconduct is discovered after a student graduates, but officials have not said whether they took action against Littlefair’s son.

A school representative declined to comment Wednesday.

In court documents, prosecutors said Littlefair worked with Singer and his employees to make sure the scheme worked.

When one of the classes required a video conference with a professor, Littlefair asked Singer to provide a stand-in for her son since he was scheduled to be out of the country, prosecutors said. An employee at Singer’s company agreed to have a “fellow male colleague” act as Littlefair’s son.

Littlefair later demanded a discount when Singer billed her for a portion of the work, authorities said. She complained that her son received a “C” in one of the classes and said “the experience was a nightmare.” Singer refused to provide a discount, saying the process “was a nightmare for all.”

Officials at Georgetown said they uncovered the misconduct in an internal review that began after authorities first announced the bribery case in March 2019.

Among those initially charged were former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, who is accused of taking $2.7 million in bribes to designate at least 12 applicants as recruited athletes even if they didn’t play tennis. Ernst has pleaded not guilty.

Georgetown previously rescinded admissions to two applicants connected to the case.