Hodge, who spent several years living in Tokyo with his family while heading Pimco’s Asia division, also gave generously to a rural school and orphanage in Cambodia. A 21-year-old architecture student who grew up in the orphanage wrote that he would have wound up living on the streets if not for Hodge’s support for the past 12 years.
“Please give him the chance to repay and repair his wrongdoing through more good actions like he has done for me,” Mach Sophanit wrote to the judge.
Mark Feigen, who described himself as Hodge’s CEO coach, said the charity he and his wife founded to provide mentoring and tutoring for girls in 29 countries had received $17 million in donations from Hodge.
Feigen asked the court to consider “the thousands of children whose lives he has changed, the unfinished good work he is still committed to do, and the depth of his remorse.”
Wrong Man
Some of the letters blamed the college consultant at the center of the scandal, Rick Singer, for leading Hodge astray.
David Miller, a professor of business ethics at Princeton University, who has been a friend of Hodge for decades, said he has told anecdotes in class about Hodge’s strong integrity and was in shock when he learned of the charges. Miller said his friend put his trust in the wrong man.
“Rick Singer is the ultimate confidence man and hustler,” Miller wrote. “Singer knew Doug’s weak spot was his love of his children and his philanthropic passion for helping the underprivileged. Singer set the trap, accenting the touching mission of his charity, and Doug stepped right into it.”
Other supporters also cited Hodge’s devotion to his children. Hodge and his wife have been married 30 years and have seven children. His two youngest were adopted from Morocco, his defense said.
Hodge’s “remorse is deep and genuine,” Miller wrote. “And I am humbled to know that Doug will dedicate the rest of his life to supporting educational endeavors for the less privileged.”
Trials for 15 parents still fighting the charges, including actress Lori Loughlin and her husband, could begin in October.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.