Former Wynn Resorts executive Gamal Abdelaziz was one of two parents to have their convictions in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal overturned by an appeals court. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA-EFE
May 11 (UPI) -- The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of two parents convicted in the so-called Varsity Blues college admissions scandal.
The Boston-based federal appeals court sided Wednesday with former Staples executive John Wilson and ex-senior gaming executive Gamal Abdelaziz, vacating their convictions for mail and wire fraud, along with conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery. The court, though, did uphold Wilson's conviction for filing a false tax return.
Prosecutors charged that Wilson agreed to pay William "Rick" Singer, the mastermind behind the scandal, $220,000 to get his son into the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit, and another $1.2 million for him to get his twin daughters into Harvard University and Stanford University also as athletic recruits.
They said Abdelaziz gave Singer $300,000 to get his daughter into USC as a basketball recruit, even though she never played varsity basketball on her high school team.
Wilson was sentenced to 15 months in prison while Abdelaziz had been given two years of supervised release, 400 hours of community service and a fine of $250,000.
In the decision, Judge Sandra Lynch wrote that evidence showed the conduct of Wilson and Abdelaziz was starkly different than other parents charged in the case who "knowingly" paid insiders at universities, paid to change their children's standardized test scores or paid for someone else to take online tests for them.
"Evaluating the record as a whole, we conclude there was insufficient evidence from which a rational jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants joined the broader conspiracy charged in the indictment," Lynch wrote.
Brian Kelly and Joshua Sharp, attorneys for Abdelaziz, said they were looking forward to their client "putting this behind him" in a statement following the ruling.
"Mr. Abdelaziz has maintained his absolute innocence since day one and is enormously grateful the appeals court has reversed his unfair conviction," they wrote.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said was "reviewing the opinion" and "assessing next steps."
