Prison is ‘torture’: Former finance CEO jailed for his role in college admissions scandal pleas to be set free and claims being locked up amid a pandemic is against ‘United Nations guidelines’
- Douglas Hodge, 62, paid $850,00 to secure spots at top colleges for his children
- The former-Pimco CEO arrived at a federal prison in Otisville on June 23
- Hodge spent 29 days in solitary which authorities say was due to the virus
An ex-financial firm CEO who paid $850,000 to get his children into elite universities has described life behind bars as ‘torture’ as he pleads to be released from jail.
Douglas Hodge, 62, an ex-Pimco boss, pleaded guilty last fall to paying $850,000 in bribes over an 11-year period to ensure his four children were accepted into the University of Southern California and Georgetown University.
He arrived at a federal prison in Otisville, New York, on June 23 and is now demanding that he be allowed to serve the rest of his nine-month sentence at home.
Douglas Hodge (pictured), 62, an ex-Pimco boss, pleaded guilty last fall to paying $850,000 in bribes over an 11-year period to ensure his four children were accepted into elite colleges but now pleads to be released from jail
Hodge’s lawyers claim that he was placed in solitary confinement for 29 days and sat in his cell for all but 15 minutes every day, according to the Boston Herald.
Appealing to U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling’s Boston office, Hodge’s lawyers said: ‘The government essentially argues that Mr. Hodge deserves this harsh sentence and the consequences for his family because he is unrepentant.
‘The government is wrong; Mr. Hodge has taken complete and sole responsibility for his conduct.’
Hodge’s plea for compassionate release or a reduced sentence comes as he claims that being locked up during the coronavirus pandemic is ‘torture under United Nations guidelines’.
However, Lelling’s office has called Hodge’s description absurd.
Prosecutors say that Hodge’s claims of being ‘torture’ are false and explain that he was kept in quarantine for two 14-day cycles as a pre-caution to minimise risks from the virus. Pictured: The Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville
Feds say that all prisoners at the medium-security prison Hodge is kept at can shower three times a week and use the phone twice in that time and are entitled to fresh clothing, water jugs and ice.
Prosecutors say that Hodge’s claims of being ‘torture’ are false and explain that he was kept in quarantine for two 14-day cycles as a pre-caution to minimise risks from the virus.
They also point to Hodge expressing remorse for his action at his sentencing hearing but then publishing an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal where he claims to be the victim.
Judge Nathaniel Gorton has not ruled on Hodge’s plea to date and later this month a federal judge in Boston will also rule on whether to accept a plea deal from Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli.