A Newport Beach woman who paid more than $9,000 to have someone secretly take online college courses for her son and sought a discount when he received a C has been sentenced to five weeks in prison.
Karen Littlefair said she’s “truly sorry” for her actions and asked the judge for leniency, calling the experience a “nightmare” for her family.
Littlefair is among more than 50 people charged in the college cheating scheme involving wealthy parents and athletic coaches at elite universities across the country.
U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs told Littlefair she taught her son “it’s OK to cheat, it’s OK to take shortcuts.”
Prosecutors say Littlefair hired college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer’s company to take four online classes on behalf of her son so he could graduate from Georgetown in 2018.
Her son graduated from the university in Washington in May 2018.
