iStock/Graffizone(NEW YORK) — A few days before beverage magnate Gregory Abbott pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in connection with the college admissions cheating scam, police say he was beaten up by one of his children in the family’s swank Fifth Avenue home.
Malcolm Abbott, who raps under the name “Billa,” repeatedly struck his father with a ruler, and punched, bit and kicked him inside the family’s New York home on Sunday, the NYPD said.
Malcolm Abbott was arrested two days later and charged with assault in the second degree.
Gregory Abbott and his wife Marcia, who split their time between New York and Aspen, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to paying a $125,000 bribe to inflate their daughter’s standardized test scores. Prosecutors said they would recommend a sentence of one year in prison.
Abbott is the founder of the beverage distribution company International Dispensing Corp.
Malcolm Abbott has used the criminal case against his parents to sell tee-shirts on his social media page. The shirts say “Free Education: Bill You Later.”
Prosecutors said parenting guru Jane Buckingham paid Singer $50,000 to have Mark Riddell take the ACT on behalf of her son. Buckingham sent Singer a copy of her son’s writing sample, telling him as the plan came together, “I know this is craziness, I know it is. And then I need you to get him into USC, and then I need you to cure cancer and [make peace] in the Middle East.” Her family and friends sat in the front row of the courtroom during the proceedings.
Prosecutors recommend Buckingham receive a sentence of 8 months and a fine of $40,000, and her sentencing is set for October 23.
According to prosecutors, Los Angeles real estate CEO Robert Flaxman paid $250,000 to have Singer secure his son’s admission to the University of San Diego as an athletic recruit. Flaxman also paid $75,000 to have Riddell assist his daughter with her answers as she took her ACT exam.
Prosecutors recommended that Flaxman receive a sentence of 8 months and a fine of $40,000, and his sentencing is set for October 18.
Prosecutors said Marjorie Klapper, co-owner of a jewelry business in California, paid $15,000 to have Riddell proctor and correct her son’s ACT exam. Klapper told the judge today she “willingly and remorsefully” admits to her role in the scheme. Prosecutors recommend Klapper receive a sentence of 4 months and a fine of $20,000, and her sentencing is set for October 16.
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