The former men's soccer coach at the University of California, Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to racketeering charges in the nation's college admissions scandal.
USA Today reports that Jorge Salcedo, head soccer coach at UCLA from 2004 to 2019, will become the 33rd person to plead guilty in the nationwide "Varsity Blues" admissions scheme.
In a deal with federal prosecutors, Salcedo will admit to accepting $200,000 in bribes to facilitate the admission of two students into UCLA as fake soccer recruits.
Prosecutors are recommending that Salcedo, 47, receive a sentence at the "low end" of sentencing guidelines that range from 24 to 30 months in prison, one year of supervised release, forfeiture totaling $200,000, an unspecified amount of restitution, and a fine.
[RELATED: News release from U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts]
Salcedo is accused of conspiring with the scheme's mastermind, Rick Singer, as well as Ali Khosroshahin, a former head coach of women’s soccer at the University of Southern California, to designate the daughter of Davina and Bruce Isackson as a soccer recruit to get her accepted into UCLA.
In exchange, prosecutors say Salcedo received $100,000 of a $250,000 payment the Isacksons made to Singer.
Singer, Khosroshahin and the Isacksons each pleaded guilty to charges last year and have been cooperating with prosecutors. They are awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors also allege that in 2018, Salcedo conspired with Singer and Khosroshahin to “recruit” the son of Xiaoning Sui, another client of Singer’s, to the UCLA men’s soccer team even though Sui’s son did not play soccer competitively. In exchange, Salcedo accepted a $100,000 bribe from Singer out of a $400,00 payment Sui made to Singer.
Sui, a Chinese national and resident of Surrey, British Columbia, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in February after spending more than five months in a Spanish prison amid a slow U.S. extradition process following her Sept. 17 arrest.
Salcedo resigned from UCLA after being indicted in March 2019.
