SAN JOSE,CA - Vancouver businessman and former Canadian Football League player David Sidoo has been charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with the FBI investigation into a criminal conspiracy that sought to help privileged kids with middling grades gain admission to elite U.S. universities according to the National Post. In a 12-page indictment filed March 5 in the U.S. District Court...
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of Massachusetts, Sidoo is accused of making two separate $100,000 payments to have others take college entrance exams in place of his two sons.
Sidoo is also accused of providing documents for the purpose of creating falsified identification cards for the people taking the tests. In what is being called the biggest college-admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, Sidoo has been charged with nearly 50 other people. Nine athletic coaches and 33 parents including Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin who are among those charged in the investigation, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.
Sidoo, 59, was arrested in San Jose, recently and he appeared in a California court on Mar 11. No date has been set for his initial appearance in federal court in Boston.
Sidoo’s lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement that his client has been repeatedly recognized for his philanthropic endeavours, which are “the true testament to his character.” According to the indictment, an unidentified person flew from Tampa, FL., to Vancouver in 2011 to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in place of Sidoo’s older son and was directed not to obtain too high a score since the older son had previously taken the exam, obtaining a score of 1460 out of a possible 2400.
A copy of the resulting SAT score — 1670 out of 2400 — was mailed to Chapman University, in the city of Orange on behalf of the older son, who was admitted to and ultimately enrolled in the university in January 2012.
It’s also alleged that Sidoo arranged to have someone secretly take the older boy’s Canadian high school graduation exam, with the person posing as the boy taking the exam in June 2012.
The Vancouver businessman is also alleged to have paid another $100,000 to have someone take the SAT in place of his younger son.
Sidoo paid the agreed-upon sum by wire transfer to a company bank account in California the following year, it says. In 2013 and 2014, the falsified SAT (2280 out of 2400) scores obtained on behalf of his younger son were sent to universities as part of his college applications, including Yale University and Georgetown University, the indictment asserts. The score was also sent to the University of California-Berkeley, where the younger son was accepted and later enrolled, it says. Sidoo, an investment banker currently serving as CEO of Advantage Lithium, was awarded the Order of B.C. in 2016 for his philanthropic efforts.
He is a former star with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds football team and helped the school win its first Vanier Cup in 1982. He went on to play five seasons in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions. Sidoo is a prominent donor to UBC and is credited with spearheading an alumni fundraising campaign, 13th Man Foundation, that resuscitated the school’s once struggling football team. He reportedly donated $2 million of his own money to support the program.
Sidoo Field at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium is named in his honor.
Sidoo and his wife Manjy have long been supporters of The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School program.
The 59-year-old owns a residence — recently assessed at $35.88 million — along West Point Grey’s Belmont Avenue, which is noted for being B.C.’s wealthiest neighbourhood.
Sidoo is also accused of providing documents for the purpose of creating falsified identification cards for the people taking the tests. In what is being called the biggest college-admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, Sidoo has been charged with nearly 50 other people. Nine athletic coaches and 33 parents including Hollywood actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin who are among those charged in the investigation, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.
Sidoo, 59, was arrested in San Jose, recently and he appeared in a California court on Mar 11. No date has been set for his initial appearance in federal court in Boston.
Sidoo’s lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said in a statement that his client has been repeatedly recognized for his philanthropic endeavours, which are “the true testament to his character.” According to the indictment, an unidentified person flew from Tampa, FL., to Vancouver in 2011 to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in place of Sidoo’s older son and was directed not to obtain too high a score since the older son had previously taken the exam, obtaining a score of 1460 out of a possible 2400.
A copy of the resulting SAT score — 1670 out of 2400 — was mailed to Chapman University, in the city of Orange on behalf of the older son, who was admitted to and ultimately enrolled in the university in January 2012.
It’s also alleged that Sidoo arranged to have someone secretly take the older boy’s Canadian high school graduation exam, with the person posing as the boy taking the exam in June 2012.
The Vancouver businessman is also alleged to have paid another $100,000 to have someone take the SAT in place of his younger son.
Sidoo paid the agreed-upon sum by wire transfer to a company bank account in California the following year, it says. In 2013 and 2014, the falsified SAT (2280 out of 2400) scores obtained on behalf of his younger son were sent to universities as part of his college applications, including Yale University and Georgetown University, the indictment asserts. The score was also sent to the University of California-Berkeley, where the younger son was accepted and later enrolled, it says. Sidoo, an investment banker currently serving as CEO of Advantage Lithium, was awarded the Order of B.C. in 2016 for his philanthropic efforts.
He is a former star with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds football team and helped the school win its first Vanier Cup in 1982. He went on to play five seasons in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions. Sidoo is a prominent donor to UBC and is credited with spearheading an alumni fundraising campaign, 13th Man Foundation, that resuscitated the school’s once struggling football team. He reportedly donated $2 million of his own money to support the program.
Sidoo Field at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium is named in his honor.
Sidoo and his wife Manjy have long been supporters of The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-A-School program.
The 59-year-old owns a residence — recently assessed at $35.88 million — along West Point Grey’s Belmont Avenue, which is noted for being B.C.’s wealthiest neighbourhood.
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