The wife of a California real estate magnate accused of using Facebook stock to bribe their daughter’s way into an A-list university was released Monday on $1 million bond and ordered not to talk about the case with her co-defendant husband.

Davina Isackson, 55, of the Bay Area town of Hillsborough, Calif., is the third of 33 parents across the country to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Boston since being charged last week with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud in connection with the explosive college admissions scandal.

Each faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

Isackson, flanked by two of her four private attorneys, declined comment as she left Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal’s courtroom. No arraignment date was set.

Her husband, Bruce Isackson, 61, co-founder of the real estate development firm WP Investments, is scheduled to make his initial appearance March 29. Boal warned the wife there is to be “no discussion of the substance of the case with family members outside of counsel.”

The Isacksons are jointly accused in federal court documents of conspiring with the admissions scandal’s admitted mastermind William “Rick” Singer, 58, of the Edge College and Career Network to get one daughter into the University of California, Los Angeles, as a soccer recruit via what prosecutors allege was a falsified athletic profile and a $250,000 “gift” to Singer’s bogus education charity Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF). The payment was made in 2,150 shares of Facebook, Inc., stock, court documents state.

Singer, identified in court papers as “Cooperating Witness-1,” told law enforcement the couple then agreed to engage in cheating on a second daughter’s college entrance exam in order to get her into the University of Southern California as a rowing recruit even though she did not compete in rowing. Over the course of less than a year, it’s alleged the Isacksons transferred other stocks to KWF totaling $350,692.



Davina Isackson was allegedly captured on a wiretap last year arranging with Singer to get the ball rolling on behalf of her son.

On Dec. 3, Singer, who pleaded guilty last week to racketeering, money laundering, fraud and obstruction of justice, went to the couple’s home after law enforcement directed him to tell the Isacksons that KWF was being audited by the IRS and questions were being asked about their donations.

With his wife away, Bruce Isackson was allegedly recorded telling Singer, “I’m so paranoid about Davina … I mean, I can’t imagine they’d go to the trouble of tapping my phone, but would they tap someone like your phones?”

According to court documents, Bruce Isackson told Singer if they did go forward with a plan to help his son, “I think we’ll definitely pay cash this time.”