Salcedo was arrested March 12, 2019 for conspiracy to commit racketeering for participation in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. He resigned from his coaching position in the wake of the scandal. He pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2020. He was later sentenced in March 2021 to, among other things, eight months in prison.[1][2]
Playing career
High school and college
Salcedo, son of soccer player Hugo Salcedo, grew up in Cerritos, California. He attended Cerritos High School where he twice earned Parade high school soccer All-America recognition. He then attended UCLA and played soccer for the Bruins from 1990 to 1993. During his four seasons with the Bruins, Salcedo 74 games, scored six goals and added seven assists. In 1990, his freshman season, Salcedo scored the decisive penalty kick shootout goal to give the Bruins the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. He was a 1993 first-team All-American, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science.
In 2001, Salcedo became an assistant coach with the UCLA Bruins. During his three seasons as an assistant, UCLA won the 2002 NCAA Championship and two Pac-10 championships. In 2002, he spent two short stints as acting head coach. In early 2004, UCLA hired Salcedo to replace Tom Fitzgerald as head coach. Salcedo was named the 2004 Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year after leading UCLA to its third-straight conference title. In 2006, the Bruins went to NCAA Championship Game where they lost to UC Santa Barbara.
Arrest and indictment
On March 12, 2019, Salcedo was arrested, and indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for conspiracy to commit racketeering for alleged participation in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.[4] His indictment charged Salcedo with taking $200,000 in bribes to help two students, one in 2016 and one in 2018, get admitted to UCLA using falsified soccer credential admission information.[5][6]
As a result, he was placed on leave by UCLA from his coaching position at the school.[5][7] On March 21, 2019, it was announced that he had resigned.[8]
On April 21, 2020, it was announced that he had agreed to plead guilty to the charges against him.[9] His plea was accepted on January 14, 2021.[10] On March 19, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sentenced Salcedo to 8 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release and a forfeiture of $200,000.[11][10] Salcedo was imprisoned in the United States Penitentiary, Lompoc, and was released on December 30, 2021.[12]
