Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters] – On Wednesday, a federal jury in Boston will hear closing arguments in the trial against two wealthy fathers. They are accused of having paid hundreds of thousands of dollar to obtain admission to their children at elite schools as phony recruits.

Gamal Aziz (ex-casino executive) and John Wilson (founder of private equity firm), are first to be charged in connection with the Operation Varsity Blues probe into U.S. college admissions fraud.

These are just a few of the 57 defendants in an elaborate scheme by rich parents to defraud college placements for their children through William “Rick”, Singer (California college admissions consultant).

Singer pleaded guilty to cheating college entrance exams in 2019, and to funneling money from parents to corrupt athletes officials to allow their children to be admitted as false athletes.

This scandal embroiled celebrities and executives, such as actresses Lori Loughlin (and Felicity Hufman), who were both among the 47 defendants that pleaded guilty. One parent was pardoned by former President Donald Trump.

Gamal Abdelaziz is also the former president of Wynn Resorts Ltd’s Macau branch. Wilson, a former Gap Inc. (NYSE:), and Staples Inc Hyannis Port Capital was founded by an executive (NASDAQ:).

Prosecutors claimed that Aziz (62) agreed to $300,000 in 2018 for his daughter to be admitted to USC as a basketball recruit.

Prosecutors stated that Wilson (64) paid $220,000 for his son to be falsely identified as an USC waterpolo recruit in 2014.

The two men claimed that he tried to pay $1.5million more later to fraudulently secure Stanford and Harvard spots for his daughters. This arrangement Singer talked with Wilson over recorded telephones while cooperating in investigations.