Man arrested for making hoax calls to professional US sports coaches and pretending to offer them jobs

Kenneth Tarr, 37, arrested at his home in Hollywood; booked on suspicion of felony eavesdropping
USC athletic director Pat Haden said two people pretending to be school representatives contacted coaches and tried to discuss Trojans' football coaching vacancy
A person impersonating a school rep contacted Tony Dungy, the former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis coach

PUBLISHED: 12:05 EST, 10 December 2013 | UPDATED: 14:39 EST, 10 December 2013

A Los Angeles man who is alleged to have made prank calls to prominent professional sports coaches, offering them jobs, has been arrested.

Kenneth Tarr, 32, was arrested yesterday at his home in Hollywood and booked on suspicion of felony eavesdropping.

The charge involves recording phone conversations without the consent of the people on the calls, police spokeswoman Sally Madera said.

Kenneth Tarr, 32, from Hollywood, who is alleged to have made prank calls about job vacancies for prominent professional coaches, has been arrested

Tarr was being held on $20,000 bail, LA County jail records showed.

Madera would give no further details or identify the victims, saying only that Tarr pretended to be somebody else on the calls.

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But LAPD Lt Mark Reina told NBC news, which first reported the arrest, that the two-month investigation 'includes coaches from across professional sports'.

San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives and NFL investigators were assisting in the continuing investigation and more victims were being sought based on a search warrant that had been served, Reina said.

A person impersonating a school representative contacted Tony Dungy (pictured), the former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis coach

Police did not know if Tarr had retained an attorney. A phone message left at a number listed in his name was not immediately returned.

In October, University of Southern California athletic director Pat Haden said two people pretending to be school representatives contacted two coaches and tried to discuss the Trojans' football coaching vacancy.

Haden said one of the pranksters repeatedly tried to speak to an unnamed member of the Denver Broncos' coaching staff about the USC opening.

A person impersonating a school representative contacted Tony Dungy, the former Tampa Bay and Indianapolis coach.

Afterwards, Dungy talked about his apparent contact with USC on a national radio show, saying he turned down the representative. Steve Sarkisian was later hired as coach.

Dungy later tweeted that he had been misled by 'someone acting on their own' and apologised to Haden for the mix-up.

Police would not comment on whether the USC calls were part of the investigation.