A former Lynnfield resident who was involved and convicted in the Varsity Blues college-admissions scandal had his lawyers appear in court earlier this week to recoup $1 million he had transferred to Rick Singer, the admissions consultant running the scheme, according to The Boston Globe.
In September 2023, John B. Wilson, 64, was resentenced to six months of house arrest on a single tax count related to the Varsity Blues college-admissions scandal.
According to the Commonwealth, Wilson was sentenced to “one year of probation, with the first six months to be served in home detention, and 250 hours of community service. Wilson was also ordered to pay a fine of $75,000 and restitution in the amount of $88,546.”
During his trial in 2021, it was established that Wilson paid $220,000 to Singer to facilitate his son’s admission to the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit. Additionally, Wilson paid Singer $1 million to secure designated recruit statuses for his twin daughters at Stanford and Harvard in sports they had no actual involvement in.
While Wilson was convicted in 2021 of bribery and fraud, an appeals court later overturned those charges.
During his resentencing, Wilson maintained that his payments were lawful donations.
Wilson sold his home on Ashley Court in Lynnfield for $4.2 million last month, according to the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds.
The Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, uncovered in 2019, revealed a widespread scheme in which parents, including celebrities, paid large sums to facilitate their children’s admission to prestigious universities.
Operated by Singer, the scheme involved cheating on standardized tests and bribing coaches to designate applicants as recruited athletes. High-profile individuals like actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman faced legal consequences.
