By Chris Villani

Law360 (August 6, 2020, 7:41 PM EDT) -- The former CEO of Pacific Investment Management Co. spent the first 29 days of his nine-month prison sentence in the "Varsity Blues" case alone in a 77-square-foot prison cell for nearly 24 hours per day due to the COVID-19 pandemic — a harsh sentence that prosecutors have acknowledged, but have not addressed, according to his latest bid for release into home confinement.

Douglas Hodge on Wednesday asked U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to let him out of a medium-security prison and pushed back against federal prosecutors in the college admissions case who called it "absurd and disingenuous" to liken the quarantine policy to "torture" under the United Nations guidelines.

Hodge, who was sentenced to nine months after he admitted to spending $850,000 to work with scheme mastermind William "Rick" Singer and get five of his seven kids into top schools, argued he is being unduly punished because he chose to report to prison early due to an family concern that has been redacted from court records.

"The government does not dispute that Mr. Hodge was alone in his cell for well-over 23 hours on each of those 29 days," Hodge's attorneys wrote Wednesday. "Instead, the government attacks Mr. Hodge's motivation for reporting to prison, and argues that he cynically subjected himself to this treatment."

Hodge filed a heavily redacted motion at the end of July asking Judge Gorton to put him in home confinement and detailing the family issue that he said prompted him to report to prison even with the pandemic still raging.

Prosecutors noted in their opposition filing on Monday that Hodge was able to get his report date pushed back to June 30 — and possibly further if the pandemic were still an issue — after claiming his life could be in danger if he were confined during the health crisis.

"Instead, Hodge reported to prison early — on June 23, 2020 — and then filed a request for compassionate release with the Bureau of Prisons the very next date," prosecutors wrote, italicizing several words for emphasis.

The government said Hodge was well aware that he would have to isolate for at least 14 days in a medium-security prison if he chose to report during the pandemic.

Hodge countered Wednesday by saying the government did not address either the harsh conditions of his confinement or the family matter that led to his reporting to prison.

"Rather, the government essentially argues that Mr. Hodge deserves this harsh sentence and the consequences for his family because he is unrepentant," the brief states. "The government is wrong; Mr. Hodge has taken complete and sole responsibility for his conduct."

Hodge said the claim that he did not accept responsibility stems from his request — since denied by the court — to be re-sentenced on the grounds that the government improperly withheld evidence suggesting he thought he was paying donations to Singer, rather than quid pro quo bribes.

"Mr. Hodge recognizes that the court did not adopt Mr. Hodge's position," his brief states, "but the government's current stance — that the court should take no action to address the punitive conditions Mr. Hodge endured because he raised serious concerns with the government's conduct — sends a chilling message."

Both Hodge's attorney and a representative for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.

Judge Gorton denied Hodge's request for a new sentencing in early July, ruling that Hodge was a longtime player in Singer's scheme and admitted as much under oath.

Hodge's attorneys had argued that, while he knew Singer falsely designated his children as recruited athletes, he always believed he was helping other students with donations to the schools.

He said that belief was buttressed by notes from a recorded Singer phone call in which Singer wrote that he was being pressured by investigators to get parents on tape saying their payments were bribes, when in fact he had told them they were donations.

But Judge Gorton ruled that, by the time those notes were penned following Singer's arrest and cooperation with the government, Hodge had been a full participant in Singer's schemes for nearly a decade.

The first trial in the high-profile case on Thursday was delayed to Feb. 22.

The government is represented by Eric S. Rosen, Alexia R. De Vincentis, Justin D. O'Connell, Kristen A. Kearney, Stephen Frank and Leslie Wright of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Hodge is represented by Brien T. O'Connor, Ezra D. Geggel and Joan McPhee of Ropes & Gray LLP and Miranda Hooker of Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP.

The case is U.S. v. Colburn et al., case number 1:19-cr-10080, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

--Editing by Michael Watanabe.

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