Developer with Arizona ties sentenced to 1 month in college scandal

PHOENIX — A developer with projects in the Phoenix area who was involved in the widespread college admissions scandal was sentenced to 1 month in prison Friday.

Robert Flaxman, whose Crown Realty and Development was responsible for the Montelucia Resort in Scottsdale, paid $75,000 to cheat on his daughter’s college entrance exam.

He was among the 50 people indicted earlier this year, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, for paying and accepting bribes to help students gain admission to their colleges of choice.

Flaxman pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and fraud in April. He faced up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors recommended a sentence “at the low end of the guidelines.”

Authorities said he paid the money to have a test proctor feed his daughter answers on her ACT exam in 2016.

She scored a 28 out of 36 on the test, placing her in the 89th percentile and improving 4 points over her previous score on the exam.

Flaxman’s lawyers said he agreed to the testing scheme because his daughter’s test scores were too low to get into college.

Prosecutors said Flaxman sought a tax deduction for the bribe, which was funneled through a sham charity.

He was also accused of paying a consultant $250,000 to use fake documents to get his son into the University of San Diego, but those allegations were not pursued.

Flaxman was the 10th person sentenced in the scheme. A total of 19 parents have pleaded guilty, while 15 are contesting the charges.

The wealthy parents all had agreed to pay William “Rick” Singer various amounts of money to ensure he got their children admitted to the high-profile universities and colleges of their choice.

The conspiracy included bribing entrance-exam administrators and coaches. The coaches agreed to pretend they had recruited the sons and daughters for their teams, when in fact, the teens did not participate in said sports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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