A UCLA student whose parents were among the 50 people charged in a nationwide college bribery scheme was listed as part of the school’s soccer team despite having no competitive soccer experience before attending the university, according to a new report.
Bruce Isackson, 61, president of a real estate development firm in California, and his wife Davina Isackson, 55, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
According to prosecutors (pdf), they paid William “Rick” Singer to secure the admission of their older daughter into college as a recruited athlete. Singer, who has pleaded guilty to orchestrating the nationwide scheme, initially tried to get Lauren Isackson into the University of Southern California, but the application and falsified soccer profile were diverted to the regular admissions process, derailing the attempt.
Singer then turned to UCLA, where the student-athlete admissions committee on June 28, 2016 approved her for provisional admission after falling for the fake profile.
After Singer let the parents know of the admission, Davina Isackson responded, copying her husband and daughter: “I know it it has been a rough ride but I thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for your persistence, creativity, and commitment towards helping [our daughter],” she wrote.
Singer paid the head coach of UCLA men’s soccer, Jorge Salcedo, $100,000, and Ali Khosroshahin, the former head coach of women’s soccer at USC, who forwarded Isackson’s application to Salcedo, $25,000.
The Isacksons paid Singer’s organization, which authorities said was used to funnel money through for the scheme, $250,000 in Facebook stock.
Bruce Isackson emailed Singer on July 11 that year, copying his wife, and wrote: “Thanks for the follow-up call regarding the attached Key Worldwide Foundation invoice. Per our discussion can you please send me an email confirming that if [our daughter] is not admitted to UCLA as a freshman for the Fall 2016 class that The Key Worldwide Foundation will refund our $250,000.00 gift. Again, both Davina and I are greatly appreciative of all your efforts on [our daughter]’s behalf!”
The Isackson’s also allegedly paid Singer another $250,000 to falsify her ACT test and get her into USC by falsely presenting her as a crew recruit.
Lauren Isackson was listed as part of the 2017 UCLA women’s soccer team, which finished as runner-up to the national champions, even though she’d never played competitive soccer prior to joining the Bruins, according to the Los Angeles Times. The recruiting class she was a part of included some of the top athletes in the nation, including girls who were part of the U.S. and Canadian national teams.
The committee that admitted Isackson required she play on the team for at least one year. She was given the No. 41 jersey, while all the other players had number between 00 and 28.
Her profile on a Pac-12 website said she appeared in 0 games and played 0 minutes during the season. A 2017 UCLA media guide described her as a practice player.
Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for UCLA, told the Times that student privacy laws prevented him from discussing Isackson in particular. All teams at the university, he said, “include student-athletes with varying levels of athletic achievements.”
“Some team members are on the roster for the purposes of preparing the team for competition, and may not play in games,” he added.
JUST NOW: Bruce & Davina Isackson enter the federal courthouse in #Boston. They’re both charged w/ Mail & Wire Fraud in the #CollegeAdmissionScandal. They’re accused of using the scheme to get their 3 children into elite schools. #7News pic.twitter.com/bHZKQ4hkMl
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) March 18, 2019
UPDATE: Davina Isackson has her initial appearance in federal court for the #CollegeCheatingScandal. She’s been released on $1 Million bail & she has to surrender her US & Canada passports. #7News pic.twitter.com/ZXkYrailgw
— Justin Dougherty (@DoughertyJC) March 18, 2019
Salcedo, the coach named in the indictment, is on leave pending an investigation into the allegations, the spokesman said. Salcedo was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
None of the children involved in the scandal have been charged, though some are in danger of being expelled by their universities. Lauren Isackson, who is no longer on the soccer team but is still enrolled at UCLA, has not commented publicly, while an attorney for her parents declined to comment.
Davina Isackson, a dual citizen of the United States and Canada, appeared before a judge in Boston on March 18. She had both of her passports taken away before being released on $1 million bond.
Bruce Isackson was in court with her but was not slated to appear himself until March 29.
