A University of Southern California coach accused of helping Lori Loughlin’s social media-star daughter get into the school as a bogus athletic recruit as part of the nationwide college admissions scandal has agreed to plead guilty, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Former USC assistant women’s soccer coach Laura Janke will cop to racketeering conspiracy and cooperate with authorities, the feds said.
Prosecutors say Janke, 36, helped the scheme’s mastermind, William “Rick” Singer, create sham athletic profiles for his rich clients’ kids, helping them to get named as phony athletic recruits to the college.
Singer in 2017 emailed Janke asking her to create a profile for the “Full House” star’s younger daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, as a crew athlete — even though she’d never participated in the sport, court documents allege.
“Ok sounds good,” Janke responded, according to court documents. “Please send me the pertinent information and I will get started.”
Prosecutors also announced Tuesday that San Diego dad Toby MacFarlane will plead to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in the scam, the feds said.
Prosecutors say MacFarlane paid Singer $450,000 to get his son and daughter into the college by bribing Janke.
In 2013, Singer sent a sham athletic profile to Janke for MacFarlane’s daughter, falsely claiming she was a “US Club Soccer All American” in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades alongside a photo of her playing soccer, court documents allege.
She was accepted to USC and graduated in 2018 — but never played soccer for the school, prosecutors say.
Meanwhile, Singer in 2016 directed Janke to fabricate an athletic profile for MacFarlane’s son that claimed he was 6 feet 1 and had been playing on his high school’s varsity basketball team since 2014, court documents allege.
But the teen actually only made varsity in his senior year — and a statement originally drafted by Singer, but never sent, said he was only 5 feet 5, according to court documents.
The boy was accepted as a basketball recruit and attended the school briefly before withdrawing in May 2018 — but never played on the team.
Singer paid for the favors by giving money to a soccer club run by Janke and USC women’s soccer head coach Ali Khosroshahin, prosecutors claim.
Khosroshahin has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Thirteen other parents arrested in the scandal — including actress Felicity Huffman — have also agreed to plead guilty to the same charges as MacFarlane, prosecutors announced earlier this month.
Loughlin last week said she would plead not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.