Georgetown Tennis Scam: Dad Bribed Way In

BOSTON – Another one bites the dust in the continuing saga of elite college admissions fraud. Amin Khoury, 54, of Palm Beach, Fla. and Mashpee, Mass., has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly using cold, hard cash to buy his daughter a spot at Georgetown University. The charges? Conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, plus straight-up bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

The feds say Khoury cooked up the scheme back in May 2014, agreeing to shell out approximately $200,000 to Gordon Ernst, then the head coach of men’s and women’s tennis at Georgetown. The deal? Ernst would designate Khoury’s daughter as a tennis recruit, despite the fact her skills didn’t come close to the level needed to actually earn a spot on the team. It was a straight-up fabrication, a lie greased with a massive payoff.

According to the indictment, the charade worked. Georgetown sent Khoury’s daughter a “likely” acceptance letter in December 2014, thanks to Ernst’s intervention. When she was formally accepted in May 2015, Khoury allegedly showed up in Massachusetts with a duffel bag stuffed with $200,000 in cash. He handed $180,000 to a third-party, along with an additional $20,000, with instructions to get it to Ernst. That third-party then allegedly delivered $170,000 to Ernst’s spouse in Falmouth, pocketing $10,000 for their trouble. The scheme didn’t end there; the indictment claims Ernst even *hounded* Khoury for the remaining $20,000 he was owed.

This wasn’t just a shady deal; it’s a federal crime. Khoury faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 – or twice the gross gain or loss from the scheme, whichever is greater – on the conspiracy charge. The bribery charge carries an even stiffer penalty: up to 10 years behind bars, plus the same supervised release and fine structure. But remember, these are just potential sentences; the final call rests with the judge.

The investigation was a joint effort led by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, alongside the FBI’s Boston Field Division (Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta), the IRS’s Criminal Investigations unit (Acting Special Agent in Charge Joleen Simpson), and the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (Resident Agent in Charge Mark Deckett). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric S. Rosen, Justin D. O’Connell, Leslie A. Wright, Kristen A. Kearney, Stephen E. Frank and Karin M. Bell are handling the prosecution.

Let’s be clear: these are allegations. Khoury is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. But the evidence, as laid out in the indictment, paints a damning picture of a privileged parent willing to break the law to get his daughter into an elite university. You can find more details on the case, including charging documents, at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/investigations-college-admissions-and-testing-bribery-scheme.