Former USC athletic official pleads guilty in college admissions scandal
Donna Heinel, a former athletics department official at USC, pleaded guilty on Friday in the college admissions bribery scandal, admitting she helped get students into the school by passing them off as elite athletes.
Of the 57 people charged, Heinel was one of a remaining few who had maintained their innocence. Prosecutors portrayed Heinel, 60, as playing a crucial role in Singer’s operation. As a liaison between USC’s admissions office and the school’s vaunted athletics department, she was accused of hoodwinking admissions officials about children of Singer’s clients by presenting them as top-level athletes the school’s coaches wanted on their teams.
Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded guilty and have served time in prison. Singer, who has pleaded guilty to several felonies and cooperated with investigators, is awaiting sentencing. Talwani asked Heinel if the student files she presented to admissions officers were fabricated to make it appear that USC coaches were recruiting the children of Singer’s clients for their teams.
Before accepting Heinel’s plea, Talwani also pressed prosecutors to explain how Heinel had personally benefitted, since parents typically made payments into a bank account managed by the USC athletics department. Prosecutors argued that Heinel received a professional gain from the payments, because she could decide how to dole out the money in the account.
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