Pennsylvania Dad Gets Home Detention After Pleading Guilty to Bribing Georgetown Tennis Coach

Robert Repella, who pleaded guilty to bribing Georgetown's former tennis coach to get his daughter into the prestigious university, was sentenced on August 11, to about a month in home detention, according to the Associated Press.

According to prosecutors, the Pennsylvania native agreed to pay Gordon Ernst, who was the tennis coach at Georgetown then, at least $120,000 to have his daughter designated as a tennis recruit for the Washington D.C. university.

Prosecutors said that unlike the other parents charged in the sprawling college admissions bribery scandal who bribed coaches and others through a middleman in admissions consultant Rick Singer, Repella arranged the deal directly himself with Ernst.

Repella sentenced to one year of probation

Repella, who hails from Ambler, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to one year of probation, with home detention through Labor Day. The former pharmaceutical executive was also ordered to serve 220 hours of community service and pay a $220,000 fine.

Prosecutors had sought a month behind bars for Repella. They said that the father took an active role in the elaborate scheme, initiating not only emails but also meetings with Ernst to get her daughter to be admitted to Georgetown.

Repella's lawyer argued in court papers that the daughter of his client possessed not only the athletic ability but also the grades to get into Georgetown and play tennis in that university.

According to Repella's attorney, Ernst told the 63-year-old that he had to support Georgetown's tennis program if he wanted his daughter to play in the university. Ernst instructed Repella to write blank checks to make sure the funds actually go to the program, but the former pocketed the money instead.

Repella's defense team is pleased with the ruling, saying that the athletic and academic information that their client's daughter provided to the university was totally accurate. Fisher added that she recently graduated from Georgetown and is in good standing with the university.

Repella pleaded guilty back in 2020 to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. Ernst, who once coached the family of former President Barack Obama, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison back in July for pocketing more than $3 million in bribes in exchange for helping rich parents cheat their children's way into the university. His punishment is by far the longest sentence that has been handed down thus far in the massive case.

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Ernst and Repella first met back in 2017

According to the US Attorney's Office for Massachusetts, Repella and Ernst had their first meeting back in 2017. The former CEO of Harmony Biosciences agreed to pay Ernst to use one of the tennis coach's six yearly recruitment slots for her daughter. The office said that her tennis abilities were not at the level of a typical recruit for a university, according to the Daily Voice. 

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