US appeals court overturns first 'Varsity Blues' scandal convictions

A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out the fraud convictions of two wealthy fathers accused of participating in a vast college admissions fraud by conspiring to pay bribes so their children could attend top universities. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled in favor of private equity executive John Wilson and former casino executive Gamal Aziz, the first defendants tried among dozens charged in the sprawling "Operation Varsity Blues" probe.

A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out the fraud convictions of two wealthy fathers accused of participating in a vast college admissions fraud by conspiring to pay bribes so their children could attend top universities.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled in favor of private equity executive John Wilson and former casino executive Gamal Aziz, the first defendants tried among dozens charged in the sprawling "Operation Varsity Blues" probe. All of Aziz's convictions were set aside, and all but one of Wilson's convictions were aside. The court upheld Wilson's conviction for filing a false tax return.

The office of U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, which prosecuted the defendants, and Wilson's lawyers had no immediate comment. Aziz's lawyer Joshua Sharp said his client "has maintained his absolute innocence from day one and is enormously grateful that the appeals court has reversed his unfair conviction."

Prosecutors had accused the defendants and other parents of conspiring with the cheating scheme's mastermind, California admissions consultant William "Rick" Singer, to win college admission for their children through bribery, rigging entrance exams and fabricating athletic skills. Operation Varsity Blues exposed inequalities in higher education and resulted in more than 50 guilty pleas, including by actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who Singer counted as clients.

Wilson and Aziz were convicted in October 2021, and sentenced four months later to a respective 15 months and 12 months in prison. Singer was

sentenced in January to 3-1/2 years in prison, after becoming a government informant and pleading guilty to several charges.

Wilson and Aziz were the first to go to trial in 2021. A former University of Southern California water polo coach convicted in the second trial later won a new trial, and another parent was acquitted in the third trial. Prosecutors said Wilson paid $220,000 in 2014 to have his son falsely designated a USC water polo recruit and later in 2018 paid another $1 million to try to secure spots for his twin daughters at Stanford and Harvard universities.

Aziz, a former Wynn Resorts Ltd executive also known as Gamal Abdelaziz, was accused of paying $300,000 to secure his daughter's admission to USC as a basketball recruit.