Pandemic delays prison for Hot Pockets heir, ex-Pimco CEO in college admissions scandal

BOSTON (Reuters) - An heir to a microwave snack fortune and a former chief executive of investment firm Pimco cannot use the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to avoid prison time for convictions in the U.S. college admissions scandal, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, although they can delay starting their sentences.

U.S. District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston said that while the public health crisis warranted delaying when Michelle Janavs and Douglas Hodge would report to prison, he would not allow them to serve their sentences at home instead.

Janavs, whose family’s company created the microwavable food Hot Pockets, and Hodge, who served as CEO of Pimco from 2014 to 2016, had been scheduled next week to begin serving prison sentences of five and nine months, respectively.

They were sentenced in February after pleading guilty to participating in a scheme in which wealthy parents conspired with a college admissions consultant through fraud and bribery to secure the admission of their children to top universities.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-education-cheating/pandemic-delays-prison-for-hot-pockets-heir-ex-pimco-ceo-in-college-admissions-scandal-idUSKBN22C3LQ