Newport Beach Man Gets 9 Weeks In Prison In Varsity Blues Scandal

BOSTON, MA — A Newport Beach man who pleaded guilty in December for his involvement in the Operation Varsity Blues college admissions scandal was sentenced Wednesday to nine weeks in prison.

I-Hsin “Joey” Chen, 67, will have to serve one year of supervised release after finishing his prison sentence and perform 100 hours of community service, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said.

U.S. District Judge Nathanial Gorton also ordered Chen to pay a $75,000 fine.

Chen pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2021, in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to one count each of wire fraud and honest services wire fraud, federal prosecutors said.

Chen was accused of conspiring with William Singer, a Newport Beach businessman and ringleader of a nationwide college bribery and cheating scheme, to cheat on his son's ACT exam, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Chen was the 35th person to be sentenced in connection with the scheme.

Chen paid Singer a $75,000 "business consulting fee" for his son to take the ACT at a testing center in West Hollywood, prosecutors said. Singer had control of the center by bribing Igo Dvorskiy, a test administrator.

Dvorskiy would then allow Mark Riddell, a test proctor, to correct Chen's son's ACT answer, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The correction would lead to Chen's son getting a "fraudulently inflated score."

Prosecutors said Riddell was sentenced to four months in prison for his role in the scheme. Singer and Dvorskiy are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to charges for their participation.

Operation Varsity Blues uncovered dozens of wealthy families who sought Singer's services to get their children accepted into colleges through cheating and bribery.

Actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were among the wealthy parents caught up in the scheme.