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The head of a Silicon Valley hedge fund who became embroiled in the massive college bribery scandal by helping his two daughters cheat and bribing a Georgetown University tennis coach has stepped down.Manuel Henriquez, 55, will be replaced as CEO and chairman of Hercules Capital in Palo Alto, California after he was charged for his involvement in the plot to help wealthy Americans cheat their children's way into universities.Henriquez was arrested in New York City and released on $500,000 bail after a brief appearance in Manhattan federal court Tuesday.Shares of the hedge fund plunged 9 percent on word of Henriquez' arrest on Tuesday.Hercules said Wednesday that Henriquez will still hold a seat on the board and will serve as an adviser.Henriquez and his wife Elizabeth, 56, are accused of participating in the college entrance exam cheating scheme on four separate occasions for their two daughters.They also allegedly bribed the Georgetown University tennis coach to designate their older daughter, Isabelle, as a tennis recruit.According to the court documents, the Henriquezes paid mastermind William 'Rick' Singer $25,000 in the fall of 2015 to have someone proctor Isabelle's SAT exam and correct her answers.The couple allegedly paid for the proctor to be flown to San Francisco to help Isabelle with the college admissions test at her private all-girls Catholic school, Notre Dame High School, in Belmont.The fixer told investigators that he sat next to the Henriquez's daughter during the exam and gave her the correct answers.After the exam, the fixer 'gloated' with Elizabeth and Isabella about how they had cheated and gotten away it, according to the affidavit.Isabelle received a score of 1900 out of 2400, which was a 320-point improvement on her previous score.In addition to her SAT scores, the couple are also accused of bribing Gordon Ernst, the school's tennis coach, to designate their daughter as a recruit to facilitate her admission to the university.This was despite the fact that Isabelle did not play a single tennis tournament in high school.Isabelle wrote in her application that she played 'club tennis' all through high school for 20 hours per week and 52 weeks per year, the documents claim.She claimed to have a 'Top 50 ranking' in the United States Tennis Association Junior Girls Tennis for her sophomore through senior years of high school, and said she was on the UTSA All-Academic Team for tennis during her junior and senior years as well.'In fact, records obtained from the USTA do not show that she played at any USTA tournaments in high school,' the documents state.'At her best, she appears to have ranked 207th in Northern California in the under-12 girls division, with an overall win/loss record of 2-8.' Isabelle was allegedly encouraged to rewrite her college application essay to reflect her so-called passion and commitment to tennis.In the essay, Isabelle writes about practicing for 'three to four hours a day.with the hopes of becoming successful enough to play college tennis, especially at Georgetown'.She also referenced Ernst, writing: 'What is most amazing is how quickly I connected with Coach Ernst.He spent time with me while on campus and at several tournaments I played in'.After Isabelle was admitted to Georgetown in May 2016, the Henriquez Family Trust 'donated' $400,000 to Singer's charity.Isabelle is currently a Spanish and Iberian studies major at Georgetown and a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.She is the president of 'Hoya Helpers', a tutoring organization for middle school students in Georgetown, and also studied abroad in Spain, according to her LinkedIn page.Isabelle previously interned at her father's company, and is listed as a current investment banking intern at Compass Point Research & Trading, LLC and an incoming summer wealth management analyst at Jeffries Financial Group.The following year, Singer allegedly had someone help the youngest Henriquez daughter with her ACT in exchange for Manuel using his influence to get another one of Singer's applicants into Northeastern University.The couple later paid an additional $25,000-$30,000 to have a fixer improve that daughter's SAT scores.Fifty people, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, were charged in the scheme in which wealthy parents allegedly bribed college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation's most selective schools.Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S.Justice Department, with the parents accused of paying an estimated $25 million in bribes.
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Video length: 8:44
Category: News & Politics
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