Jane Buckingham to be sentenced in college admissions scheme

California marketing CEO and author Jane Buckingham is in court to be sentenced for her role in the college admissions bribery scheme. 

The 51-year-old appeared in Boston’s federal court on Wednesday after pleading guilty in May to a single count of fraud and conspiracy.

Buckingham admitted to paying $50,000 to have a test proctor take the ACT exam for her son in 2018. 

It landed him a 35 out of 36 on the test, ranking in the 96th percentile nationally.

Prosecutors are recommending six months in prison as part of the plea deal, while her lawyers have suggested a year of probation, a fine and community service.

Buckingham, who is the CEO of Beverly Hills boutique marketing firm Trendera and is friends with Felicity Huffman, has previously apologized for her involvement in the scheme and says she has ‘absolutely no excuse’.

She was among the 50 people charged last year for allegedly conspiring with mastermind Rick Singer to cheat their children’s way into college.

According to the court documents related to the case, Buckingham’s son Jack was due to fly to Texas to sit his exam in a test center that was in on the scheme but he came down with tonsilitis.

Buckingham, who didn’t want him to fly, allegedly arranged for Jack to take a fake test at home while someone else took his test in Texas.

The 51-year-old appeared in Boston’s federal court on Wednesday after pleading guilty in May to a single count of fraud and conspiracy

Buckingham admitted to paying $50,000 to have a test proctor take the ACT exam for her son Jack in 2018

Jack took the test in his bedroom in July 2018 and believed that it had secured him his place.

Buckingham had given a handwriting sample from her son so the person taking the test could attempt to match his writing on the exam.

In a wiretapped phone call with Singer, Buckingham said: ‘He has not great writing. I’m gonna give you that’.

She later emailed across the writing sample and said: ‘Good luck with this’.

Jack ended up scoring 35 out of 36 on the ACT.

Months later in October, in a conversation wiretapped by investigators, Buckingham expressed interest in having someone take her daughter Lilia’s entrance exams as well.

Buckingham admitted that her daughter is ‘not a great test taker’. 

Buckingham had given a handwriting sample from her son so the person taking the test could attempt to match his writing on the exam

Buckingham, who is the CEO of Beverly Hills boutique marketing firm Trendera and is friends with Felicity Huffman, has previously apologized for her involvement

Her son Jack, who said he was advised not to speak about the matter, issued a statement to the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year saying he was ‘unknowingly involved’ in the cheating scheme.

‘I know there are millions of kids out there both wealthy and less fortunate who grind their a** off just to have a shot at the college of their dreams,’ he wrote.

‘I am upset that I was unknowingly involved in a large scheme that helps give kids who may not work as hard as others an advantage over those who truly deserve those spots.’

‘For that I am sorry though I know my word does not mean much to many people at the moment. While the situation I am going through is not a pleasant one, I take comfort in the fact that this might help finally cut down on money and wealth being such a heavy factor in college admissions.

‘Instead, I hope colleges may prioritize an applicants’ character, intellect, and other qualities over everything else.’