Feds seek 21 months for Hot Pockets heiress who tried to get daughter admitted to USC as fake recruit

BOSTON, Mass. (KTLA) -- Prosecutors are seeking nearly two years in prison for an heiress to the Hot Pockets microwavable snack fortune who agreed to pay $300,000 to cheat the college admissions process for her daughters in a nationwide bribery scheme.

Michelle Janavs, whose family developed Hot Pockets before selling their company, will be sentenced Tuesday in Boston federal court for her role in the scandal that has embroiled elite universities across the country.

Janavs admitted to paying the consultant at the center of the scheme, Rick Singer, $100,000 to have a proctor correct her daughters' ACT exam answers. She also agreed to pay $200,000 to have one of her daughters labeled as a fake beach volleyball recruit at the University of Southern California but she was arrested before the girl was formally admitted, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors are asking for 21 months in prison, calling her one of the “most culpable parents” charged in the case. They note in court documents that she engaged in the scheme multiple times and waited to accept responsibility until months after she was arrested.