Indictment: Associate AD at USC helped students gain entry into USC as football recruits
An alleged college entrance fraud scheme revealed by federal authorities on Tuesday included the creation of fake football players to get around USC’s academic standards.
According to the Justice Department’s indictment, a college prep business run by William Rick Singer would create athlete profiles for kids — some of whom did not play sports at all — at the behest and payment from their parents. Then, with the alleged cooperation of USC senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel, the kids would be admitted into USC as athletes instead of as regular students.
Heinel has been charged with racketeering conspiracy as part of the wide-ranging indictment that also names actresses Lori Laughlin and Felicity Huffman. In addition to helping students get into USC as football recruits, Heinel allegedly did the same for kids positioned as basketball and crew recruits. Laughlin’s daughters were posed as crew recruits.
USC said Tuesday afternoon that Heinel, along with water polo coach Jovan Vavic, had been fired.
Per the indictment, Singer, identified as cooperating witness 1, told one of the defendants that positioning his son as a football player would increase the son’s odds of getting into USC by 90 percent thanks to Heinel’s cooperation. The son of William McGashlan was positioned as a kicker who would walk on at USC despite going to a high school that doesn’t have a football team.
The alleged scheme even went as far as photoshopping McGashlan’s son to make it look like he was a football player.
From the indictment:
147. CW-1 went on in the call to tell McGLASHAN, in substance, that if they could get his son accepted to USC as a fake “kicker” or “punter,” his odds of admission would jump to 90 percent, as set forth in the excerpt below.
CW-1 So, you know, essentially she [Heinel] told me when I get all the paperwork together, and I gotta create this profile pic. So what I’ll probably need, if you guys have any pictures of him playing multiple sports, or something where you can kind of see his face a little bit in action?
McGLASHAN Umm. Hmm.
CW-1 It would be helpful because I will Photoshop him onto a kicker.
McGLASHAN (laughs) Okay. Okay. Let me look through what I have. Pretty funny. The way the world works these days is unbelievable.
Other fake football players were created too
The son of a liquor distribution CEO was also positioned as a fake long snapper to get into USC. That fake football profile was created in conjunction with alleged entrance exam fraud.
According to the indictment, Marci Palatella gave the college prep business a fake SAT score to go with the fake football profile. Her son was admitted into USC in November 2017.
“On or about July 27, 2017, approximately four months after engaging in the SAT cheating scheme, PALATELLA e-mailed CW-1 a photo of her son in his football uniform and asked, “Will this work?” CW-1 forwarded the photo to Janke, together with PALATELLA’s son’s grades and test scores, which included the fraudulently obtained SAT score. Janke created a football profile for PALATELLA’s son that falsely described him, among other things, as an active player on his high school football team as a member of the “defensive line” and a “long snapper” and as a member of several local and statewide championship teams between 2015 and 2017.”
Heinel is also accused of being involved in a third scheme that started in 2015. The son of Douglas Hodge, an investment management company CEO, also had a fake football player profile. That profile, per the indictment, was tweaked to make it more realistic after input from Heinel.
“Heinel provided handwritten edits to the football profile and indicated that the photograph included on the profile should be exchanged for a ‘better picture’ that was ‘more athletic.’”
After Hodge’s son was admitted into USC, he allegedly sent Heinel a check.
“426. USC mailed HODGE’s son a formal acceptance letter on or about March 24, 2015. Exactly one week later, HODGE mailed Heinel a $75,000 check payable to the USC “Womens Athletic Board.” On or about April 1, 2015, HODGE wired $125,000 to The Key, and $125,000 to KWF. CW-1, in turn, directed a payment of $50,000 from KWF to a bank account controlled, in part, by Janke in the name of “SC Futbol Academy,” a private soccer team.”
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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