Operation 'Varsity Blues' goes to trial: Boston investment firm founder and Las Vegas hotel developer are the first parents to go on trial for 'paying' Rick Singer to secure spots for their children in college admissions scandal
Two parents are set to go on trial in the 'Operation Varsity Blues' scheme, which involved wealthy parents paying large sums of money to get their kids admitted into elite universities.
John B. Wilson, 62, and Gamal Aziz, 64, will appear before a jury in the US District Court in Boston Wednesday, two-and-a-half years after the scheme was exposed as a national college admissions scandal.
They are among the 57 parents charged over the scheme but 46, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Laughlin made plea deals.
Wilson, who is the founder of Hyannis Port Capital, is accused paying more than $1.7 million to California college admissions consultant William 'Rick' Singer - the criminal mastermind behind the entire scheme.
John B. Wilson, 62, and Gamal Aziz, 64, will appear before a jury in the US District Court in Boston Wednesday, two-and-a-half years after the scheme was exposed as a national college admissions scandal.
Both Wilson and Aziz paid California college admissions consultant William 'Rick' Singer large sums of money to get their children fraudulently admitted into the University of Southern California as athletic recruits
He has been charged with filing a false tax return, money laundering conspiracy, and federal programs bribery in relation to the scandal, which came to light in March 2019 following a widespread FBI investigation.
Between 2014 and 2018, Wilson allegedly paid Singer to fraudulently procure admission for his three children to attend the University of Southern California, Stanford, and Harvard universities as athletic recruits.
Wilson, however, has pleaded not guilty to his charges, saying his three children were admitted to the elite colleges on their own merit.
Aziz, the former CEO of Wynn Macau Limited and MGM Resorts International, is accused of shelling out $300,000 to Singer in 2018 in an attempt to get his daughter fraudulently admitted to USC as a basketball recruit.
According to prosecutors, both parents allegedly conspired to commit mail and wire fraud, in addition to committing bribery related to federally funded programs with Singer.
Singer began cooperating with the government in 2018, and pleaded guilty in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and using bribery to secure the admission of students to colleges as fake athletic recruits
Netflix released the feature-length documentary to its subscribers last month
Wilson is mentioned in the film, and it also features a re-enactment of his arrest (pictured)
Singer then used the payments to bribe college coaches and administrators.
In April, Wilson filed a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over their feature-length documentary about the investigation titled 'Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal'.
Wilson is mentioned in the film, which also features a re-enactment of his arrest.
Wilson's attorney, Howard Cooper, told Bloomberg his client's inclusion in the documentary gives 'the false and defamatory impression that the Wilsons engaged in conduct to which others have pled guilty such as having a non-athlete child apply to college as an athlete, photo-shopping pictures to fake their athleticism, and having others take college admissions tests for their children.'
It is unclear how much money Wilson is seeking in damages from the streaming service.
'Full House' star Lori Loughlin (right) and her husband Mossimo Giannulli (left) were jailed over the scheme
'Desperate Housewives' star Felicity Huffman was among 46 parents to take a plea deal after being charged in the scheme
Singer, who began cooperating with the government in 2018, secretly began recording calls with the parents who hired him.
He pleaded guilty in 2019 to facilitating cheating on college entrance exams and using bribery to secure the admission of students to colleges as fake athletic recruits.
While it's possible Singer may not testify, prosecutors said they might rely on recordings of his calls with the parents and e-mails they exchanged, according to a filed pretrial memorandum.
Wilson and Aziz are among 57 people charged in the far-reaching college admissions bribery scheme, which also includes 'Desperate Housewives' star Felicity Huffman and 'Full House' star Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli.
Loughlin and her husband admitted to their roles in the scheme last May when they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.
Loughlin was sentenced to two months in jail and Giannulli was sentenced to five months behind bars.
Giannulli and Loughlin's plea deals came after months of them insisting they had done no wrong.
