A former IMG Academy director accused of taking SAT and ACT tests for college-bound children of wealthy parents is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering, court documents show.
Mark Riddell – who started working at the school and sports academy in Bradenton, Florida, in 2006 – is accused of taking the college admission tests for students between 2011 and February 2019. IMG Academy has since terminated him.
Riddell faces up to 20 years in prison, supervised release for three years and a fine of $250,000. The Palmetto resident is a 2004 Harvard graduate.
On March 13, Riddell issued an apology and statement on the allegations:
"I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my needless actions," Riddell wrote. "I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process."
The school and sports academy issued the following statement about Riddell's arrest:
"After learning yesterday of the allegations against Mark Riddell as part of a larger criminal investigation, we suspended Mr. Riddell indefinitely. With the current information at hand, we have no reason to believe this alleged misconduct extends beyond Mr. Riddell, nor do we believe that these actions have any direct relation to Academy students, parents, or staff."
Court documents filed earlier this month accuse Riddell of getting paid by admissions consultant Rick Singer who was collecting money from wealthy parents, including Hollywood actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
The documents accuse Singer of using his charitable organization, The Key Worldwide Foundation, to pay Riddell. It claims the men cheated on “college entrance exams on behalf of the children of Singer’s clients” and “to enrich Riddell, Singer and their co-conspirators personally.”
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