College Scam Dad Is Pardoned by Trump Over $50,000 Bribe
- Zangrillo is only one of parents charged to avoid prosecution
- He’s accused of hiring surrogate to take daughter’s classes
Robert Zangrillo departs court in Boston, Mass., on March 29, 2019.
Photographer: Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
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A Miami venture capitalist caught up in the biggest U.S. crackdown on college-admissions cheating was pardoned by President Donald Trump, becoming the only one of about three dozen parents charged in the scam to escape prosecution.
Robert Zangrillo, the founder of Dragon Global Management, was accused of conspiring to bribe university officials to help his daughter gain admission to the University of Southern California. While many parents pleaded guilty, Zangrillo was part of a smaller group fighting charges in a case prosecutors dubbed “Varsity Blues,” and his trial was scheduled for September in Boston.