Former U.S.C. Official to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Scandal

U.S.|Former U.S.C. Official to Plead Guilty successful College Admissions Scandal

A erstwhile University of Southern California diversion head has agreed to plead blameworthy to being portion of a sweeping strategy to get students admitted to prestigious universities arsenic fake diversion recruits, successful speech for bribes.

Donna Heinel, the administrator, is expected to participate the plea in Boston national tribunal connected Friday morning, little than 2 weeks earlier she was scheduled to spell to proceedings successful the case. The investigation, known arsenic Operation Varsity Blues, exposed a corrupt backstage assemblage consultant, William Singer, moving with coaches, trial administrators and affluent parents consenting to wage thousands of dollars successful bribes to get their children into immoderate of the country’s apical universities.

Dr. Heinel received much than $1.3 cardinal successful bribes according to national prosecutors.

Her plea comes astir a period aft 2 of the parents, Gamal Abdelaziz, a erstwhile casino executive, and John Wilson, a backstage equity financier, were recovered blameworthy by a national assemblage successful Boston; they were the archetypal radical to basal proceedings successful the case.

Dr. Heinel was straight implicated successful Mr. Abdelaziz’s case. Prosecutors said she helped Mr. Abdelaziz’s girl get admitted to U.S.C. successful 2018 arsenic a hoops recruit, adjacent though she had not made her precocious schoolhouse varsity team. Prosecutors said Mr. Abdelaziz subsequently sent $300,000 to a instauration controlled by Mr. Singer. A fewer months later, tribunal papers say, Mr. Singer began making payments of $20,000 a period to Dr. Heinel, successful speech for her assistance successful easing the mode for Mr. Abdelaziz’s girl and the children of Mr. Singer’s different clients. Mr. Abdelaziz’s girl ne'er joined the U.S.C. hoops team.

Jeffrey Cohen, a erstwhile national prosecutor, said Friday that the condemnation of Mr. Abdelaziz whitethorn person pushed Dr. Heinel to instrumentality the plea deal.

“Those accused of being progressive present admit that the defenses made by Abdelaziz are not apt to transportation a jury, namely that this was portion of the mean admissions process and thing corrupt,” Mr. Cohen said. “Faced with that realization, the defence volition beryllium hard-pressed to formulate a defense, particularly for the coaches who are portion of the assemblage and not outsiders to the process.”

The probe has snared much than 50 parents, coaches, exam administrators and others successful an admissions strategy that implicated assemblage diversion programs astatine the University of Southern California, Yale, Stanford, Wake Forest and Georgetown. Most person pleaded blameworthy alternatively than instrumentality their chances successful court.