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Robert Flaxman, the developer who pleaded guilty for his role in a nationwide college admissions cheating scandal, was found dead this month in what local police have ruled a suicide.
He was found at his home in Malibu, California, after friends requested a welfare check, TMZ reported.
Flaxman, the CEO of Costa Mesa, California-based Crown Realty & Development, spent a month in jail and paid a $50K fine after admitting to manipulating his daughter’s ACT scores in 2016. He was one of more than three dozen parents charged in what was dubbed the Varsity Blues investigation back in 2019.
Flaxman was one of a number of prominent commercial real estate figures embroiled in the conspiracy. Former PIMCO CEO Douglas Hodge pleaded guilty for his role in bribing officials to get his daughter into the University of Southern California, and Bay Area-based WP Investments President Bruce Isackson also pleaded guilty, Bisnow previously reported.
The scandal made national headlines partly because of the criminal charges filed against actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
After Flaxman served his sentence, he was granted a supervised release and was required to complete 250 hours of community service. He served his term at a federal prison in Arizona in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“There are no words of comfort at this time for his family and friends,” Crown Realty & Development said in a statement, the WSJ reported. “It is a huge loss for all of us.”
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