LOS ANGELES (CNS) - USC announced it has placed holds on the accounts of students who may be involved with the recent college admissions scheme that resulted in two USC athletic department employees being fired.
"This prevents the students from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review," the university tweeted Monday evening. "These students have been notified that their status is under review. Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion."
As a result of the admissions probe revealed last week by federal prosecutors in Boston, more than 30 parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, 11 athletic officials, coaches at USC, UCLA and other universities, and the scheme's admitted ringleader, William "Rick" Singer, were charged.
The FBI investigation, code-named operation Varsity Blues, uncovered a network of parents who paid thousands of dollars to Singer. The Newport Beach-based businessman promised to improve the children's chances of gaining entrance into elite colleges, including Yale and Stanford, by paying others to take exams, and bribing test administrators and college coaches to describe the applicants as athletes.
USC last week fired senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel and water polo coach Jovan Vavic, who were among those charged in the case.
