The first trial connected with the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked Southern California in 2019 commenced Monday at a federal court in Massachussetts.
The plaintiffs are two parents who've been accused buying their children's way into prestigious universities, including the University of Southern California and Stanford.
The defense has portrayed former casino executive Gamal Abdelaziz and ex- Staples and Gap Inc. executive John Wilson as falling prety to an alleged con man who convinced them payments they made to him were legitimate school donations.
"It is not illegal to give money to schools with the hopt that it helps your kid get in," an attorney for Abdelaziz told jurors.
The trial of Abdelaziz and Wilson began more than two years after the so-called "Operation Varsity Blues" federal investigation, after which prosecutors ordered the arrest more than 50 parents, college coaches, administrators and others involved in the alleged scheme.
Thirty other parents have pleaded guilty to crimes connected with the scandal, including actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, as well as Loughlin's fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, all of Los Angeles. Sentences have ranged from probation to short stints in prison.
Prosecutors have said all the parents implicated in the scheme were well aware the payments they made were intended to get their children fraudulently admitted to various schools as athletic recruits with embellished credentials.
Abdelaziz is accused of paying $300,000 to a sham charity run by admissions consultant Rick Singer to get his daughter admitted to USC as a basketball recruit. Abdelaziz's daughter reportedly did not make it onto her high school's varsity team.
Wilson is charged with paying $220,000 to have his son admitted to USC as a water polo recruit, and an additional $1 million to purchase his daugthers' admissions to Harvard and Stanford.
Singer himself has pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced. Prosecutors have said they won't call the admissions consultant, who has been described as the scam's ringleader, to testify in the case against Abdelaziz and Wilson.
Former senior associate athletic director for USC, Donna Heinel, and three coaches are scheduled to stand trial in Nov. 2021 for their involvement in the scheme. Three other parents are expected to face trial in Jan. 2022.