Businessman David Sidoo stripped of Order of B.C. three months after guilty plea in college admissions scandal

B.C.'s lieutenant-governor, Janet Austin, has revoked a high-profile businessman's membership in an august club.

David Sidoo was stripped of his Order of British Columbia honour today on the recommendation of the advisory council and the B.C. cabinet.

On March 13, Sidoo pleaded guilty in a Boston federal court to paying someone to take SATs on behalf of his two sons.

At the time, he admitted to paying a consultant $200,000. 

Sidoo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 15.

Under the Provincial Symbols and Honours Act, Austin has the authority to terminate a person's membership in the Order of B.C.

The man who took the tests, Harvard-educated Mark Riddell, pleaded guilty in April 2019.

The ringleader in the scheme, Rick Singer, has also pleaded guilty in the college-admissions scandal, as have actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin.

Sidoo is a former pro football player with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions before going on to a successful career in business.

The football field at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium is named after him.