Former USC athletics official pleads guilty in college admissions scheme

• Heinel pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of Boston to one count of honest services wire fraud, per The Globe. Prosecutors agreed to drop several other charges in exchange for her guilty plea.

Details: Heinel faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, the AP writes, but prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 37 to 46 months, according to the New York Times.

• She will also be required to pay $160,000 that she "received in purported consulting fees" from Singer, the Times reports.

Background: Heinel, along with school officials and coaches from Georgetown, Stanford and Yale, was accused of taking bribes from Singer to get his clients' children into some of the country's top universities.

• Federal prosecutors have charged over 50 people for allegedly bribing coaches since 2019.

• Heinel admitted that she misled an admissions subcommittee by presenting candidates who were not qualified to be athletic recruits, the Times reports.

Of note: A former Georgetown University head tennis coach pleaded guilty Oct. 26 to bribery charges in relation to the college cheating scheme.

• Last month, two parents were found guilty for their roles in "Operation Varsity Blues."

Go deeper: Timeline: The major developments in the college admissions scandal