USC parent pleads guilty to fraud conspiracy, faces recommended sentence of 15 months


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USC parent Toby MacFarlane pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy in federal court in Boston Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Prosecutors recommend MacFarlane, an insurance executive, spend 15 months in prison with one year of supervised release, pay a fine of $95,000 and restitution in the amount determined by the court at sentencing and forfeit any relevant personal assets, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Among the 33 parents charged in the college admissions bribery scheme, MacFarlane is the last of 14 to plead guilty. MacFarlane had already pleaded guilty to mail fraud conspiracy and honest services mail fraud in April.The remaining 19, including USC parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, have pleaded not guilty.

In 2014, MacFarlane paid William “Rick” Singer, the organizer of the scheme, $200,000 to help admit his daughter to the University as a fake soccer recruit, according to court documents. 

MacFarlane’s daughter was listed a “U.S. Club Soccer All-American” on applications. That title doesn’t exist, according to court documents.

Former USC soccer coaches Ali Khosroshahin and Laura Janke, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, were also involved in the scheme, receiving $50,000 from Singer in exchange for admitting MacFarlane’s daughter to the University. 

MacFarlane also paid Singer $250,000 to admit his son to the University as a fake basketball recruit in 2016, even though he had not played the sport at the varsity level until his senior year of high school, the Times reported.

After his son’s acceptance was facilitated by former senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel, who has pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, MacFarlane paid USC Athletics $50,000, according to court documents.

MacFarlane’s son withdrew from the University in 2018 and his daughter graduated that same year.

MacFarlane will be sentenced Nov. 13. 

His lawyer did not respond in time for publication.