Hot Pocket Heiress Michelle Janavs Sentenced To Prison For Role In College Admissions Scandal
The Hot Pocket heiress Michelle Janavs was sentenced this week to five months in prison for her criminal role in the college admissions scandal. Janavs admitted to paying bribes that amounted to $300,000 to get her two daughters into prestigious colleges, as USA Today reported. Her sentence is among one of the harshest doled out thus far in connection to this case.
It was Janavs’ uncle and father who created the popular snack Hot Pockets, and she inherited a fortune. She used those funds to help give her daughters an unfair boost to get into their desired university. The first bribe was $100,000 and it was used to have someone else take her daughter’s ACT exam in order to get a higher score. Then she provided $200,000 more to have her oldest daughter falsely presented as a beach volleyball player so that she could get into the University of Southern California.
Janavs apologized for her actions, calling her behavior “inexplicable.”
“I’m so very sorry I tried to make an unfair advantage for my children. There are truly no words to express the heartache and shame by my actions. I have been shaken to the core,” she told the judge while in court.
U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton had no sympathy for her, condemning her previous statement that her criminal action was done because of the love she had for her children.
“It is certainly true that the vast majority of parents truly love their children and want their children to get into their college of choice. But other parents don’t try to brazenly get their children into a side-door by bribing college officials. They love their children as much as you do,” he told her.
After doing her time behind bars, Janavs will spend two years on supervised release. She will also have to pay a $250,000 fine and complete 200 hours of community service.
One of Janavs’ lawyers, John Littrell, said that his client understands the harm her actions have caused.
“But this crime does not define who she is. Michelle is going to be defined by what she’s done the rest of her life,” he said in a statement following her sentencing.
Janavs case is quite similar to that of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, who are accused of paying $500,000 in total to get their daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella into the University of Southern California. They have taken a different route than Janavs and are fighting the charges, as The Inquisitr previously reported.
