Who Is Laura Janke? New Details About The USC Coach Who Got Lori Loughlin's Daughters Into The School
She paved the way for Lori Loughlin's daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose to get into USC.
Instagram The college admissions cheating scandal is an ongoing train wreck that none of us can look away from. The sheer balls it took for parents like Lori Loughlin, Massimo Giannulli and Felicity Huffman to pay someone to fake test scores or athletic achievments to get their kids into elite colleges — oh, and pay anywhere from $15,000 to $500,000 to do so — is stunning. It isn't just parents and the scheme's mastermind caught up in the scandal either; a number of coaches took bribes to push these non-athletic kids through as student athletes.
Laura Janke was one of those coaches. She is now the former assistant women's soccer coach at USC: a program that won the NCAA National Championship in 2007 and 2016. Janke was indicted for allegedly accepting bribes in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars to create fake athletic profiles to facilitate the admission of students to USC as soccer players (and crew team members) despite never having played soccer. She is pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and faces up to 20 years in prison. Who is Laura Janke?
1. She is from Los Angeles
Laura Janke is a 36-year-old native of Los Angeles residing in North Hollywood. She attended California State University Fullerton where she played soccer. She was a goal keeper and four-year letterman for the Titans and set a number of records in college. After completing her bachelor's degree in 2003, Janke was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons while she obtained her master's degree in kinesiology.
2. Her coaching career
It's safe to say Laura Janke's coaching career is over. Prior to getting hired at USC, she was the head coach of varsity soccer at Louisville High School in Woodland Hills, California for the 2015-2016 season. She spent seven seasons at USC and left her position in 2014.
3. She created fake athletic profiles
Prosecutors are alleging Laura Janke created a number of fake student athletic profiles. One of those was for the daughter of Toby MacFarlane, which called his daughter a "US Club Soccer All American." She had never played soccer. MacFarlane's daughter graduated from USC In 2018 without ever once stepping onto the soccer field. In 2017, Janke reportedly created an athletic profile for Olivia Jade Giannulli, the youngest daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli. Janke presented Olivia Jade as a competitive rower recruit to the crew team even though Olivia Jade never once rowed. To be clear, all these fake student athletes that Janke helped get into USC under false pretenses took spots away from legitimate student athletes.
4. How much money was she paid?
Toby MacFarlane's daughter was admitted to USC as a soccer recruit in 2014. MacFarlane paid the scheme's mastermind, William Rick Singer, $250,000. Janke was paid $100,000 for that through a soccer club that she controlled. In 2017, MacFarlane's son was admitted to USC as a basketball recruit thanks to another fake athletic profile created by Janke. He cut Singer a $200,000 check and a $50,000 check to USC Athletics.
5. The charges against her
Janke is pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. She took a plea deal and is cooperating with prosecutors and as a result, they are recommending her sentence be on the low end.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. She is deeply devoted to her chocolate Labrador and an avid long distance runner. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.