The ongoing corruption of the elite has been exposed recently, as wealthy parents have been caught in a college admissions scandal that has brought serious charges against them.
In 2020, around 50 people were charged as part of a massive college admissions scandal, including Full House actress Lori Loughlin. Now, the scandal continues with more charges for the wealthy elite.
A guilty verdict was just reached in the trial of two parents who had been charged with bribing their kids’ way into elite universities as fake athletic recruits.
Private equity firm founder John Wilson and former casino executive Gamal Abdelaziz were convicted in a Boston federal court on charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, among several other charges.
According to the case, Wilson paid $220,000 to bribe his son’s way into the University of Southern California as a phony water polo recruit, and $1 million to get his twin daughters into Harvard and Stanford.
Abdelaziz paid $300,000 to get his daughter into the University of Southern California as a basketball recruit.
Nathaniel Mendell, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, spoke out about the conviction, stating: “They and their families enjoy privileges and opportunities that most of us can only imagine. Yet, they were willing to break the law and the jury has now found that they did break the law in order to guarantee an admission spot for their children in the school of their choosing.”
“What they did was an affront to hardworking students and parents. But the verdict today proves that even these defendants, powerful and privileged people are not above the law,” Mendell added. “They broke the law and now they face the consequences.”
Lawyers for the defendants argued that the fathers had believed that the payments were legitimate donations, and attempted to blame their actions on the college admissions scheme’s mastermind Rick Singer, a California college admissions consultant.
“Look, on behalf of Mr. Abdelaziz, it’s obviously not the result he was looking for, but that’s our system and that’s why they have appellate courts. So, that’s what we’ll be doing next,” said Brian Kelly, Abdelaziz’s attorney.
According to reporting from One America News, “The pair were the first among 60 defendants to stand trial for the scandal in what authorities have dubbed ‘Operation Varsity Blues.'”
Wilson and Abdelaziz will be sentenced in February of 2022. The most serious charges they are facing could potentially land them in jail for up to 20 years.
