[ad_1]
Some parents have been accused of paying bribes to get their children into elite universities.
A guilty verdict was rendered on Friday afternoon in the trial of John Wilson and Gamal Abdelaziz, two wealthy fathers accused of paying bribes to obtain prestigious university places for their children under false pretenses.
Wilson and Abdelaziz were the first of about five dozen defendants to stand trial in Boston on charges stemming from the extensive Operation Varsity Blues program.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges of fraud and corruption conspiracy in this case.
Abdelaziz, a former Las Vegas casino manager, reportedly paid $ 300,000 to enroll his daughter at the University of Southern California as a basketball rookie, even though she did not make her debut. high school university team.
Wilson, a former Staples executive, reportedly paid $ 220,000 to have his son nominated as a USC water polo rookie and gave an additional $ 1 million to bring his twin daughters to Harvard and Stanford.
While the pair argued that they believed their payments to program mastermind Rick Singer were legitimate donations, the jury agreed with prosecutors that they amounted to bribes to buy the way. of their children in these schools.
Assistant US Attorney Stephen Frank told jurors in closing argument: “These parents weren’t ready to take ‘no’ for an answer, and to come up with ‘yes’ they crossed a line. that line, they broke the law. “
Jurors deliberated for nearly 11 hours over two days. Abdelaziz will be sentenced on February 16 and Wilson on February 17.
The trial included audio recordings of phone calls between Singer, who pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, and each of the men. Prosecutors argued that the calls showed the fathers understood they were part of a scheme.
During a phone call where Abdelaziz is heard saying: “Sabrina loves USC!” The singer is also heard saying, “I’m not going to tell the IRS that your $ 300,000 was paid to Donna Heinel at USC to enroll Sabrina in school even though she wasn’t a basketball player. legitimate at this level. “
“You’re okay with that, aren’t you?” The singer asked.
“Of course,” Abdelaziz replied.
“I’ll say your payment of $ 300,000 went to our foundation to help underserved children,” Singer said. “I just want to make sure you’re ok with this.”
“I am,” replied Abdelaziz.
Three more parents are slated for testing in January and three trainers are slated for the trails in November.
Four dozen other defendants, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, have chosen to plead guilty, and many have already served their sentences.
Kate Hodgson of ABC News contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link