Here are the high-flying financiers charged in the college-admissions cheating scandal

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Here are the high-flying financiers charged in the college-admissions cheating scandal

Stanford University

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Stanford University appeared in the college admissions scheme.

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  • The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged 50 people with participating in a scheme to get students into colleges by cheating on entrance exams or bribing athletic coaches.
  • The parents charged include Hollywood stars, as well as executives at prominent companies, venture-capital firms, and law offices.

The Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed documents charging dozens of people with participating in a nationwide college-admissions scam.

Among those parents indicted by the FBI are high-flying executives, wealthy real-estate developers and famed Hollywood stars. A slew of financiers were also named in the case, from Douglas Hodge, the former Pimco CEO, to Manuel A. Henriquez, Hercules Capital's CEO, and William McGlashan, a TPG managing partner.

Read more: Hollywood actresses and business leaders are accused of paying to get their kids into elite colleges by cheating on exams and faking athletic skills. Here's how investigators say the scheme worked.

High-ranking schools like Georgetown, Stanford, University of California, Los Angeles, Yale, University of Texas, University of Southern California and Wake Forest also appeared in the indictment, court document shows. Federal prosecutors said the systematic scheme of bribery lasted over eight years from 2011 to 2019.

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There were a number of finance executives charged. Business Insider has reached out to all of them for comment and will update this story if we hear back.

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Robert Flaxman, cofounder, Crown Realty and Development

Robert Flaxman, cofounder, Crown Realty and Development

Robert Flaxman cofounded Costa Mesa, California-headquartered real estate development company, Crown Realty and Development, in 1994. The firm has been an active local developer in California, investing in a number of notable local projects, such as the retail center Venice Crossroads and a hotel, restaurant, office complex across from Anaheim Stadium.

Crown Realty and Development has an over-2.3 million-square-foot portfolio that includes retail, hospitality, and industrial projects that spread across California, Arizona, Virginia, Idaho, and North California.

He allegedly participated in "both the college recruitment scheme and college entrance exam scheme." According to court records, he fabricated information on his son's application to the University of San Diego.

He was charged with "conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud."

Manuel A. Henriquez, founder and chairman of Hercules Capital

Manuel A. Henriquez, founder and chairman of Hercules Capital

Manuel Henriquez is the cofounder, chairman, and CEO at Hercules Technology Growth Capital, a Palo Alto, California-based venture-debt provider. The company was an early investor in Facebook.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked in venture capital for over 30 years. Prior to Hercules, he was a partner at private equity fund, VantagePoint Venture Partners. He was also the founder of ON Technology, a software company backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Apple Computer, and more.

He and his wife, Elizabeth Henriquez, allegedly "participated in the college entrance exam cheating scheme, on four separate occasions, for their two daughters."

They also "conspired to bribe Gordon Ernst, the head tennis coach at Georgetown University, to designate their older daughter as a tennis recruit in order to facilitate her admission to Georgetown."

He was charged with "conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud," along with his wife, according to court documents.

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Douglas Hodge, former CEO of Pimco

Douglas Hodge, former CEO of Pimco

Douglas Hodge is the former CEO of asset manager Pimco. Hodge took the reins of the notable bond manager after Bill Gross, the onetime "Bond King," exited the firm in 2014. In December 2017, Hodge announced that he would retire from the firm.

During his 28 years with Pimco, Hodge grew the company's assets under management from $15 billion to $1.69 trillion. Afterwards, he joined Sway Ventures as a venture partner to help grow the firm's early-stage portfolio companies.

According to the court documents unsealed on March 12, Hodge "agreed to use bribery to facilitate the admission of two of his children to USC as purported athletic recruits, and sought to enlist CW-1 to secure the admission of a third child to college through bribery as well."

He was charged with "conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud."

Pimco declined to comment on the matter.

Bruce Isackson, President of WP Investments

Bruce Isackson, President of WP Investments

Bruce Isackson is a cofounder of WP Investments, a California real estate firm.

He graduated from UCLA in 1980, and he then joined the commercial real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield, where he specialized in leasing and sales of industrial properties.

He and his wife, Davina Isackson, "took part in both the college recruitment scheme and the college entrance exam cheating scheme," according to court records. The couple agreed to"use bribery to secure their older daughter’s admission to college as a recruited athlete."

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William McGlashan

William McGlashan

Bill McGlashan runs the alternative-asset giant TPG's growth fund, and he is also the CEO of The Rise Fund, a social impact investment platform managed by TPG Growth.

He holds an M.B.A. degree from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor's degree with honors from Yale University.

McGlashan allegedly had discussions with an unnamed individual who participated in the scheme, dubbed "CW-1" in the indictment. CW-1 created "a fake football profile using Photoshop software" so that McGlashan's son could be enlisted as a "purported football recruit," according to court documents.

TPG said in a statement after the charges were announced:

“As a result of the charges of personal misconduct against Bill McGlashan, we have placed Mr. McGlashan on indefinite administrative leave effective immediately. Jim Coulter, Co-CEO of TPG, will be interim managing partner of TPG Growth and The Rise Fund. Mr. Coulter will, in partnership with the organization’s executive team, lead all investment work for both going forward.”

John B. Wilson, CEO, Hyannis Port Capital

John B. Wilson, CEO, Hyannis Port Capital

John Wilson is the president and CEO of Hyannis Port Capital, a consulting and PE firm investing in micro-cap private companies.

Previously, he has held various senior executive positions at a slew of big-name corporates like Staples, Gap, General Motors, Exxon Mobil, and Northwest Airlines. He also had a four-year stint at the management consulting firm Bain & Company, serving as a VP and a partner.

"Wilson conspired to bribe Jovan Vavic, the USC water polo coach, to designate his son as a purported recruit to the USC men’s water polo team, thereby facilitating his admission to USC," according to court documents. He also "sought to use bribes to obtain the admission of his two daughters to Stanford University and Harvard University as recruited athletes."

He was charged with “conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud” in the Southern District Court of Texas.

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Robert Zangrillo, founder and CEO, Dragon Global,

Robert Zangrillo, founder and CEO, Dragon Global,

Robert Zangrillo is the founder and CEO of Dragon Global Management, a private investment firm focusing on venture capital and real estate investments. The Miami, Florida-headquartered company has managed investments that exceed $1 billion through its predecessor and existing funds, according to its website.

A veteran venture capitalist, Zangrillo has a track record of investing in a number of fast-growing companies, including Didi Chuxing, Facebook, Jet.com, Twitter, and Uber Technologies. He is also one of the three investors developing the Magic City Innovation District project,which aims to revitalize Miami's Little Haiti and Little River neighborhoods.

Zangrillo was charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.