Vancouver businessman David Sidoo is set to plead guilty to a charge he faces in connection with the U.S. college admissions scandal, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Court documents show that Sidoo has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is expected to enter his plea in a Boston court on March 13.
According to the documents, the U.S. attorney and defendant agree that a reasonable sentence would include 90 days of incarceration, 12 months of supervised release and a fine of US$250,000.
Sidoo has been charged with mail and wire fraud and participation in a money-laundering conspiracy. He previously pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.
Prosecutors allege Sidoo paid admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer two instalments of $100,000 to have an associate take the SATs for his two sons and attempted to pay for further tests on top of those.
Lawyers for Sidoo confirmed he will appear in a federal court in Boston on Friday, saying “his desire is to seek finality to this process.”
Sidoo is a former CFL player who later found business success in the energy sector. In recent years, Sidoo became a benefactor of the University of British Columbia’s football team. The Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium is named in his honour.
In a statement to Global News, Kurt Heinrich, UBC’s senior director of media relations, says “the university is beginning its process around naming revocation in regards to the naming of Sidoo Field and related signage.”
— With files from the Associated Press and Global News’ Catherine Urquhart and Simon Little