SAN DIEGO — Elisabeth Kimmel, the former owner of KFMB Stations, was sentenced Thursday for her role in the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions bribery scandal which came to light in 2019. Kimmel was seen being wheeled into federal court for her sentencing hearing in Boston.
According to court records, Kimmel was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to six weeks in prison, two years of supervised release with the first year spent in home confinement, 500 hours of community service and a fine of $250,000.
She has been ordered to self-surrender after the holidays, by Jan. 12 to begin her custodial term.
The prosecution's sentencing papers state, "Despite a privileged upbringing, a net worth totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and degrees from two of the most prestigious academic institutions in the world -- including a law degree -- the defendant chose repeatedly to break the law, and to buy her children opportunities they did not deserve. She knew better; but she chose, again and again, to cheat and lie."
In Kimmel's sentencing papers, her attorneys wrote that she was "intensely remorseful" and "mortified at her own involvement in this scandal and the harm it has caused."
Kimmel pleaded guilty in August to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud after authorities said she paid more than $500,000 to get her two children into elite universities as athletic recruits. She initially plead not guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering conspiracy the month after her arrest in 2019. Federal charges of bribery were added for Kimmel and 10 other parents involved in the scandal in October of that year.
Kimmel, 57, was the 32nd parent to plead guilty in the nationwide college admissions bribery scandal and the 29th parent to be sentenced in the case. Among the parents charged were actresses Lori Laughlin and Felicity Huffman who already pleaded guilty and served their sentences.
Kimmel paid $275,000 in order to get her daughter accepted at Georgetown University as a tennis recruit, even though her daughter was not a competitive athlete, according to the Department of Justice. She also paid $250,000 to get her son admitted to the University of Southern California as a "pole vault recruit." He also was not a competitive athlete.
Under terms of a plea deal, Kimmel will receive a six-week prison term, followed by a year of home confinement, and another year of probation. She also will be required to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 500 hours of community service.
During August's virtual court hearing, the judge asked Kimmel, "What do you understand that you are being charged with here this afternoon?"
Kimmel responded, "Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, but not bribery."
In response to a News 8 request for comment following her guilty plea, Kimmel's defense attorney, Eoin Beirne, emailed, "We don’t have a comment but Mrs. Kimmel was correct in her statement that she did not plead to any bribery."
In June 2021, Kimmel's lawyer told the court his client was too sick to stand trial. Court documents at the time alleged her arrest was so detrimental to her health that the charges against her should be dismissed. Pictures of Kimmel's arrest showed federal agents in tactical gear and holding guns as they approached her home in La Jolla.
"This show of brute force succeeded in overwhelming Mrs. Kimmel, a 54-year old, 96-pound woman with a long history of coronary problems and no criminal history," her lawyer wrote in part.
"[Kimmel] began to suffer chest pains" and eventually ended up hospitalized in a "cardiac intensive care unit," the court documents went on to say.
A judge declined to dismiss her case and her trial was scheduled to begin in September until it was announced in August she would change her plea.
Kimmel operated KFMB Stations under the Midwest Television Inc. name, which was founded by her grandfather August C. Meyer in 1952 in Champaign, Illinois. The stations were previously run by Kimmel’s father Christopher Meyer as well.
Kimmel was arrested on March 12, 2019, at her home in the La Jolla area of San Diego. She reportedly now resides in Las Vegas.
Pages from the initial complaint outlining Kimmel's involvement can be viewed here and below:
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