Agustin Huneeus Jr., a Nappa Valley winemaker convicted in the college admissions scandal, was released from prison early due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Huneeus was discharged March 17 after US District Judge Indira Talwani approved his plea for early release last week, the LA Times reported. The Varsity Blues parent was released two weeks before the end of a five-month prison term he was serving for agreeing to pay $300,000 to bribe his daughter’s way into the University of Southern California as part of the widespread college admissions scandal that broke last year.
Huneeus was granted early release to home confinement due to “unique health circumstances” he claimed could put him at increased risk amid the coronavirus outbreak. The motion was sealed to protect specific information about Huneeus’ health.
A similar motion proved ineffective for a fellow convicted parent in the college admissions scandal, Los Angeles businessman Devin Sloane, whose request for early release on the grounds of health concerns was dismissed. Talwani ruled that Sloane had failed to produce evidence of a sufficiently “life-threatening condition” or that he had appealed to the warden at his prison in Lompoc. Sloane’s four-month sentence ends April 1.
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
