B.C. businessman David Sidoo denies all charges in college admissions scandal

A Vancouver businessman accused of participating in a college-admissions cheating scheme in the United States is denying the charges.

A team of three lawyers released a statement on behalf of David Sidoo on Wednesday, a day after a new indictment from the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts revealed he faced a new charge in the case.

The indictment said Sidoo faced a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in addition to a charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud to which he has already pleaded not guilty.

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Lawyers David Chesnoff, Richard Schonfeld, and Martin Weinberg say Sidoo strongly contests the legal and factual basis for the allegations and will rely on his defence team to defend him in future court proceedings.

Sidoo is a 59-year-old former Canadian Football League player and well-known philanthropist who is among dozens of parents, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, who have been charged in the scandal.

Huffman and 12 other parents agreed to plead guilty on Monday, while Loughlin was among 19 parents named in Tuesday’s indictment as facing a money-laundering charge.

Sidoo is accused of paying $200,000 in total for someone to take the SAT on behalf of both his sons, as well as paying an undisclosed amount for someone to fly to Vancouver to take a high school graduation exam in place of his older son.