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Outrage as Jordan Chiles' mom Gina has prison term delayed to 'support' daughter at Olympics

The plea submitted by Gina's lawyer asks the judge to allow her to 'support' her daughter Jordan Chiles throughout the Olympics

Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles has another reason to celebrate the onset of her competition in the Tokyo Olympics. Her mother, Gina Chiles, was scheduled to begin her one-year sentence for embezzlement on July 27 — the same day 20-year-old Jordan will compete in the women's gymnastics team final at the games. But a federal judge in Portland recently granted a plea from Gina's lawyer that postpones the start of her sentence by a month so that she can watch her daughter's performance in the Olympics from the comfort of her own home. This has left the internet outraged.

The plea submitted by Gina's lawyer seeks the judge to allow her "to support her daughter throughout the Olympics" and "give Mrs. Chiles' daughter at least some additional time to have her mother’s emotional support and guidance during such a monumental time her young life." Vancouver native, Jordan, will be competing against gold medalist Simone Biles and other stars in the field such as Jade Carey, Sunisa Lee, Grace McCallum and MyKayla Skinner. Though off to Tokyo for the games, the team is not allowed to travel with family or friends. 

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Gina was sentenced in November to a year and day in federal prison after she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for embezzling $1.2M through Inspire Vision Property Management LLC — a commercial properties management business whose clients were scammed and Gina's business partner Karla Pearlstein was among the victims. Additionally, once Gina is out, she will also have to repay what she stole. But when her lawyer pleaded the court to allow her a delay in reporting to prison, prosecutors did not object.

"Every moment that I watch Jordan is the most amazing moment as a mom," Gina had told Today Show's Hoda Kotb on Wednesday, July 14, shortly before learning about the delay in the commencement of her prison term. "And so I just am looking at it as not bittersweet, but just sweet, period, that she's here." Gina is personally not a fan of watching her daughter compete because of the stressfully high stakes, which she called "awful". She further added: "'I wish there was a way to support without physically having to watch it. I always say, I wish I could just blink my eyes and then know the outcome, but the outcome be good." 

But the Chiles mother-daughter duo's pre-Olympic gift hasn't been received well by many. Gina's business partner, Pearlstein described her to KOIN as "somebody that has absolutely no shame. She is an operator. I mean, she was a total operator." Pearlstein continued: "Gina is very charming and she seems like, apparently to the court, she seemed like she was a low risk. They were pushing back her imprisonment date because of her daughter’s Olympic work. I really think that what she got was a, basically, a slap on the wrist." Pearlstein continued: "I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. The courts have given her break after break. This is not the first time that they have allowed her to travel or delayed for sentencing because Jordan’s Olympic trials or whatever, but it’s a real disservice to those of us who she victimized."

Pearlstein is also not the only person to feel so strongly against the special leeway given to Gina. A gymnastics account on Twitter that goes by the username @Gymnovosti, tweeted about the delay, asking:: "Gina Chiles is getting yet another delay of her sentence. This time, the delay was given to allow her to watch the Olympics till the end. How many criminals normally get sentences delayed to watch the Olympics?" Another user shared a link to a news report of Gina's delayed report to prison and commented: "She can watch her in jail. WTF???" A third user expressed deep refusal to accept special treatment like this. "No, No, just No! This is the problem with this country, this shouldn’t be allowed.I do NOT care who her daughter is, what her daughter does."