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Jorge Salcedo
The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Jorge Salcedo, formerly a men's soccer coach at the University of California, Los Angeles, was sentenced Friday to eight months in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $200,000. In January Salcedo agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery for his role in the admissions scandal.
In 2016, Salcedo agreed with Rick Singer, who coordinated the activities, and Ali Khosroshahin, a former head coach of women’s soccer at the University of Southern California, to promote the admission of a student to UCLA as a purported women’s soccer recruit. Salcedo emailed the UCLA women’s soccer coaches the student’s transcript, test scores and a fake soccer profile that he had received from Singer and Khosroshahin. When UCLA compliance officers questioned how the applicant had been discovered and whether she actually played soccer, Salcedo created a fake backstory, resulting in her subsequent admission as a recruited walk-on for the women’s soccer team. Salcedo was paid a bribe of $100,000 for his actions.
In 2018, Salcedo agreed with Singer and Khosroshahin to “recruit” the son of another client of Singer’s to the UCLA men’s soccer team despite the fact that the student did not play soccer competitively. In the recruitment paperwork, Salcedo falsely reported that he had seen the student play in China and that he planned to offer him a 25 percent scholarship. The student was subsequently admitted to UCLA as an athlete on the men’s soccer team with a 25 percent scholarship. In exchange, Salcedo accepted a $100,000 bribe from Singer.
Singer and Khosroshahin previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the offense. They have not yet been sentenced.
At the sentencing hearing, Salcedo told U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani that he joined in the college admissions bribery scheme because he needed cash after buying a house his family couldn’t afford. Salcedo said he took complete responsibility for his actions, the Associated Press reported.
“I am a different man than I was two years ago and I will never make decisions like this again,” he said.
Talwani told Salcedo he chose “what appeared to be the easy path” for his financial problems, adding that “it invites the logic that if this hadn’t been stopped it would have continued.”
