2 Varsity Blues college admissions scam convictions reversed by US Appeals Court
Two parents who had been convicted in the Varsity Blues college admissions cheating scandal scored a major win on Wednesday, as a federal appeals court reversed the high-profile convictions.
The First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the admissions scam convictions for former Staples exec and Massachusetts resident John Wilson, and for former senior gaming and hospitality exec Gamal Abdelaziz, of Las Vegas.
Four years ago, Operation Varsity Blues led to federal charges against dozens of wealthy parents, including Hollywood stars Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Those actresses, like many others charged in the bombshell case, pled guilty and spent time in prison.
Wilson and Abdelaziz were the exception, fighting the charges and facing eventual convictions. On Wednesday, the federal convictions that were vacated were for mail and wire fraud, along with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. Wilson’s conviction for filing a false tax return was upheld by the court.
“I’m more surprised that the conspiracy convictions were overturned,” said Evan Gotlob, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, who’s now a partner at Saul Ewing.
Gotlob noted that the federal government “clearly” had recordings of the parents talking to William “Rick” Singer, the mastermind of the college admissions cheating scandal.
The feds had alleged that Wilson, of Lynnfield, agreed to pay Singer $220,000 to facilitate his son’s admission to USC as a purported water polo recruit. The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney also claimed that Wilson agreed to pay Singer $1.5 million to secure the admission of his twin daughters to Harvard University and Stanford University as purported athletic recruits.
Meanwhile, the feds had alleged that Abdelaziz agreed to pay Singer $300,000 to facilitate the admission of Abdelaziz’s daughter to USC as a purported basketball recruit. At the time, Abdelaziz’s daughter had not played basketball in well over a year, and she had never been a member of her high school’s varsity basketball team.
Abdelaziz’s attorneys from Nixon Peabody said their client “has maintained his absolute innocence from day one and is enormously grateful that the Appeals Court has reversed his unfair conviction.”
“A great win for my client,” Brian T. Kelly, one of his attorneys, told the Herald.
“His name has been dragged through the mud unfairly in his view, and right now he’s just focused on being with his family and happy that the conviction has been reversed,” Kelly added.
For all of the defendants who pled guilty, will Wednesday’s ruling have an impact on them? According to Gotlob, the former federal prosecutor, the ruling shouldn’t have any ramifications for those who pled guilty.
“With a few parents left, they may be thinking how they handle a plea bargain,” he said. “But I don’t think the effect will be that significant on other cases.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in a statement Wednesday evening said, “Our office is reviewing the opinion issued by the First Circuit Court of Appeals and assessing next steps.”
