Federal prosecutors are preparing to charge more parents in connection with the college admissions bribery scandal, broadening a probe that has already resulted in several guilty pleas, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors have told several parents in Southern California that they are the targets of the investigation, according to the Times, citing four defense lawyers.

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The lawyers told the Times that a number of parents who have not been informed they are under investigation fear they will be targeted and are working to hire attorneys. Prosecutors have reportedly sent target letters to three students, suggesting they may face criminal charges as well.

“For many of these people, this is the only thing they can think about,” a lawyer representing many as-yet uncharged parents told the Times.

Several of the attorney's clients have ties to William Singer, the Newport Beach-based college consultant charged in connection with the scheme, according to the newspaper.

“If their parents are friends with some of the people who were indicted, you start to wonder, ‘Huh, did they do something?’ ” the mother of a junior at a school where several families hired Singer told the Times. “It’s terrible to cast doubt on these children’s real achievements but you wonder, ‘Who cheated?’ ”

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts told The Hill, "We cannot comment other than to say that it’s an active and ongoing investigation."

Fifty people, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, have been charged in connection with the admissions scheme, which involved fabricating athletic careers and cheating on entrance exams.

Huffman pleaded guilty, and Loughlin has pleaded not guilty.

Updated at 2:28 p.m.