More Trouble for USC and UCLA in the College Admissions Scandal

In a coup for prosecutors and possible bad news for other defendants in the sweeping college admissions fraud investigation, one of the parents charged in the case, Davina Isackson of Hillsborough, California, has agreed to plead guilty and to cooperate with the government, according to a person with knowledge of the case.

Two other parents have said so far that they intend to plead guilty, and more will probably follow in the coming days. But Isackson’s agreement to cooperate is significant. Isackson and her husband, Bruce, a real estate developer, were accused of conspiring with William Singer, the college consultant at the center of the case, to bribe athletics officials to secure their daughters’ admission to the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Southern California as athletic recruits.

Prosecutors also accused them of paying Singer so that a proctor could correct their younger daughter’s answers on her ACT exam. The prosecutors have said that the Isacksons paid Singer a total of $600,000.

Singer has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges.

The agreement to cooperate means that Isackson will share what she knows about the roles that officials at UCLA and USC played in the scheme and, if their cases go to trial, could testify against them. It also puts pressure on other parents charged in the recruitment scheme. If Isackson testifies that she believes her actions were wrong, it makes it harder for others to say that they thought that they were simply making innocent donations.

One unusual aspect of the Isacksons’ case is that, according to the charging documents, their older daughter, Lauren, who was admitted to UCLA as a soccer recruit despite not being a top player, was required to participate on the team as a student-athlete for a year. She is listed on the 2017 roster as a midfielder. Most students involved in the case did not actually play on the teams they had been recruited for.

Prosecutors say that, after Lauren Isackson was provisionally admitted to UCLA, Singer directed $100,000 to a sports marketing company controlled by Jorge Salcedo, the former head men’s soccer coach at UCLA. The government has charged Salcedo with conspiracy to commit racketeering and he has pleaded not guilty.

Davina Isackson could shed light on whether the coaches of the women’s soccer team were also in on the scheme. Amanda Cromwell, head coach of women’s soccer at UCLA since 2013, did not respond to messages.

Both Davina and Bruce Isackson will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to the person with knowledge of the case. Isackson will also plead guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.