UCLA Women's Soccer Player Lauren Isackson Reportedly Linked To College Admissions Scandal
WESTWOOD (CBSLA) – The parents of a UCLA student allegedly used bribery to get their daughter onto UCLA's elite women's soccer team – even though the teen reportedly never played the sport.
Lauren Isackson's parents, according to The Los Angeles Times, are allegedly involved in the nationwide college admissions scandal. Last week, the FBI charged 50 people in the massive bribery scheme in which wealthy families paid millions to a Newport Beach-based businessman to help their children cheat on standardized tests, bribe test administrators and college coaches to help get their kids into top universities like UCLA, USC, Yale, Stanford and Georgetown.
Isackson was on the practice squad all season, but she was missing from the team photo.
UCLA said it's reviewing the applications of a current student and a prospective student reportedly linked to the federal investigation.
"If UCLA discovers that any prospective, admitted or enrolled student has misrepresented any aspect of his/her application...UCLA may take a number of disciplinary actions, up to and including cancellation of admission," according to a statement from UCLA.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Isackson's parents paid Rick Singer -- the mastermind behind the admissions bribery scheme -- 2,150 shares of Facebook valued at over $250,000, to get her into onto the soccer team.
Head UCLA women's soccer coach Amanda Cromwell has not been charged in the scandal. The only UCLA employee charged so far is head men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo.
A UCLA spokesperson told the Times that Isackson is no longer on the team, but is still a student at UCLA.
Meanwhile, California Assemblyman Phillip Ting spoke out Tuesday, saying all students who cheated to get into UC schools should be expelled and their degrees revoked.
"UC needs to act immediately to take action to make sure that cheating doesn't work. Otherwise, the cheaters won't get the message and all of a sudden there will be more people trying to cheat their way into school instead of trying to earn it," Ting said.
USC on Tuesday placed the accounts of suspected cheaters on hold while their cases are under review. They can't register for classes or request transcripts. The New York Times reported that six incoming freshman suspected of cheating will be denied entry.
Meanwhile, Harlow Brooks, a former high school classmate of Lori Loughlin's daughter, Olivia Jade, spoke out this week, expressing her suspicions about Jade's work ethic. Jade's parents have both been allegedly implicated in the scheme. Brooks briefly attended Marymount High School with Jade. Marymount is an elite all-girls Catholic school located in Bel Air.
"I was just confused, like how does she travel for YouTube?" Brooks said in a video posted to her own YouTube channel which has gone viral with more than 3 million hits. "How does she have time to make YouTube videos? An arrangement with the school or something? It just kinda didn't make sense to me," she said.
Brooks added she was even more surprised she got into USC.
"People are always questioning how minorities get into colleges, when maybe we should question mega-rich people who don't deserve to be at the colleges," Brooks said.
In a statement however, Marymount High School said Brooks only attended Marymount for three days, calling her claims false and misleading.
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, are accused of paying $500,000 in order for their two daughters to be designated as recruits to the USC crew team – despite the fact that neither of them ever participated in crew, according to an indictment.
