Insurance exec marred in college admissions scandal

In the full house of 50-plus individuals charged in the college admissions scandal, an insurance executive is among those with a starring role: allegedly paying a college-entrance schemer $450,000 to get his two children admitted to the University of Southern California as athletic recruits when they had never played.

A judge on Wednesday sentenced Toby MacFarlane, a 56-year-old former executive at WFG National Title Insurance Co. living in upscale Del Mar, California, to six months in prison — a longer sentence than those of the 12 other parents who have already received sentences in the scandal, best known for involving “Full House” actress Lori Loughlin, according to CBS News.

Mr. MacFarlane pleaded guilty to one count of honest services mail fraud, calling the ordeal as the "worst actions I've ever taken in my life. I'm completely humiliated and shamed." His lawyers relayed that he had lost his job and his professional license since his arrest, along with some of his properties, according to the news report. 

In addition to six months in jail, Mr. MacFarlane was sentenced to two years’ probation, 200 hours community service and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine, according to the news network.

A federal judge — a new judge presiding over the scandal — called Mr. MacFarlane a thief and said he is no different from a common criminal. That judge is set to sentence four other parents in the early part of 2020, including that of Ms. Loughlin.