UCLA men's soccer coach resigns amid college-admissions scandal
WESTWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo has resigned amid the college-admissions cheating scandal, school officials confirmed Thursday.
UCLA had put Salcedo on leave while they investigated the allegations made against him - that he took $200,000 in bribes to assist in the enrollment of two students for the school's soccer teams -- although they had no soccer experience.
Salcedo was in his 15th season as head coach for the Bruins, making him the second-longest tenured men's soccer head coach in UCLA history.
College admission cheating scam: List of Southern California residents charged in alleged scheme
At least nine athletic coaches and 33 parents were among those charged in the investigation, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues. Dozens have been arrested - including 13 people who were taken into custody in Los Angeles on Tuesday. This includes actress Felicity Huffman.
Another Hollywood actress charged in the case is Lori Loughlin.
Prosecutors said parents paid an admissions consultant from 2011 through last month to bribe coaches and administrators to label their children as recruited athletes, to alter test scores and to have others take online classes to boost their children's chances of getting into schools.
READ: Charging document filed in 'Operation Varsity Blues'
Parents spent anywhere from $200,000 to $6.5 million to guarantee their children's admission, officials said.
The other coaches accused in this scheme work at Stanford, Georgetown, Wake Forest and Yale.
RELATED: College admissions scandal investigation began with tip from Los Angeles man: Report
No students were charged. Authorities said in many cases the teenagers were not aware of the fraud.
Authorities said coaches in such sports as soccer, sailing, tennis, water polo and volleyball accepted bribes to put students on lists of recruited athletes, regardless of their ability or experience. That, in turn, boosted the students' chances of admission.
Authorities are calling it the admissions bribery scheme as the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department.
