In February 2020 he was sentenced to nine months in federal prison, and to pay a $750,000 fine and serve 500 hours of community service, for his participation in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.
[citation needed] He also served as an executive committee member and on the board of directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA).
[9] In March 2019 Hodge appeared in US federal district court in Boston to face charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services fraud, asserting that he allegedly paid over a half a million dollars in bribes so that three of his children would be admitted into Georgetown University and the University of Southern California (USC), as part the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.
[12] Assistant US Attorney Eric S. Rosen told the court Hodge was a flight risk with “unlimited resources,” and facing a maximum prison term of 20 years if convicted.
[12] The allegations detailed how Hodge paid entities controlled by William “Rick” Singer (who has entered a guilty plea admitting that he was the ringleader of the scheme) and corrupt school officials, to bribe coaches and college officials to get them to present Hodge's children as sports team recruits, despite them not having the requisite athletic ability.
[12][13] Also according to the affidavit, in December 2014 Hodge asked Singer by e-mail if his son, who was in high school, was “really qualified” for USC.
[12][13] Also according to the affidavit, in August 2018 Hodge called Singer to ask about getting his youngest son into Loyola Marymount University.
Hodge assured Singer that “I'm not going off script here... That foundation has — its stated mission is to help underserved kids basically get into — you know, through — get through college.
In February 2020 he was sentenced to nine months in federal prison, and to pay a $750,000 fine and serve 500 hours of community service, as a result of the charges.
[17][14] In February 2020, the Wall Street Journal newspaper published an Opinion piece written by Mr Hodge titled, "I Wish I'd Never Met Rick Singer"[18]