In college admissions scam, a parent's 'victim' claim fails. Stephen Semprevivo gets 4 months in prison
In a memo filed in advance of Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Semprevivo’s attorney, David Kenner, made his client out as a nearly helpless victim of Singer’s criminal overtures.
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It is undisputed that Rick Singer prayed [sic] on Stephen, and parents like him, in his 25-million-dollar racketeering bonanza, that to some real extent makes Stephen a victim,” Kenner wrote.
Kenner claimed that because Semprevivo came from a “world of successful businessmen and professionals,” he was a particularly easy target for Singer because he was predisposed “to fixate unreasonably on a degree from Georgetown” and view admission to an elite school as “the holy grail.”
“Once targeted, Singer drew them in, parted them from their money and made them complicit in his scheme,” Kenner wrote of parents who conspired with Singer.
Kenner claimed Singer steered Semprevivo’s son away from less prestigious schools and then told the father and son the chances of getting admitted to Georgetown were slim unless they paid him for his illicit access.
In the memo, Kenner acknowledged Semprevivo knowingly went along with the plan but claimed the father was driven by fear. To bolster his claim, he attached a report from a criminologist Semprevivo’s defense team hired. The report included an excerpt from a meeting Semprevivo had with a psychologist.
“Rick had a volatile personality. I was afraid of him. I kept thinking what would happen if he erupted, if we pulled out,” Semprevivo allegedly said. “I don’t know if I feared him physically, but I do recall him saying, ‘Don’t make me chase you for the money.’ That was a scary thing to hear him say. So I felt trapped, that I couldn’t back out.”
