BOSTON (AP) 鈥� A Massachusetts business executive who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in the sprawling college admissions cheating scandal appealed his conviction on Monday, arguing that he believed he was making legitimate donations to get his three children into elite universities.
John Wilson, 62, was convicted on a range of fraud and bribery charges . He was given the after prosecutors said he paid $1.2 million in bribes to cheat the college admission system.
In a brief filed Monday, Wilson鈥檚 lawyers argue that he鈥檚 different from the dozens of other parents charged in the scheme. Wilson鈥檚 children were all qualified to get into the colleges they sought entry to, according to the filing, and Wilson never knew any single person would benefit from the payments.
鈥淎ll concede that Wilson鈥檚 donations were intended for the universities, not any individual,鈥� the filing says. 鈥淭he universities cannot be both the victim and the beneficiary of the 鈥榖ribes.鈥欌��
The appeal asks for an acquittal of all charges or a new trial.
Wilson, a former Staples Inc. executive who is now CEO of a private equity firm, was accused of paying $220,000 to have his son admitted to the University of Southern California as a water polo recruit. Prosecutors said he later paid another $1 million to get his twin daughters into Harvard and Stanford, and then filed part of it as a tax write-off.
The payments were made through admissions consultant William 鈥淩ick鈥� Singer, the scheme鈥檚 alleged mastermind, who Wilson first hired to help his son in 2013. Singer has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the investigation.
According to the appeal, Singer 鈥渞epeatedly described his donation strategy as legitimate鈥� and led Wilson to believe the funding was going directly to colleges. In reality, Singer pocketed half of a $200,000 payment to USC, the brief says.
Wilson鈥檚 lawyers argue that the judge overseeing the trial wrongly blocked evidence showing that Singer described his donation plan as legitimate and legal. They also fault prosecutors for 鈥渕anufacturing an association鈥� between Wilson and other parents in the case, even though he was unaware of any scheme or the other parents.
鈥淲ilson was forced to convince the jury not only of his own good faith, but also that he was an outlier. That imposed an additional, if not insurmountable, burden,鈥� his lawyers wrote.
At the trial in October, prosecutors argued that Wilson was well aware the payments were designed to get his children into college as athletic recruits with embellished credentials. They pointed to a water polo profile that Singer sent to Wilson for his son, with fabricated swim times and awards.
Wilson鈥檚 lawyers said he never reviewed the email with the athletic profile, and they counter that his son was an accomplished water polo player who started on his high school鈥檚 team and was chosen as an all-star in his conference.
His son practiced and trained with the USC team throughout his freshman year, according to the appeal, and left only because he suffered a serious concussion. Teammates said he was just 鈥渓ike the rest of us,鈥� the brief said.
Wilson also denies any wrongdoing in his daughters鈥� college applications. The twins had 鈥減erfect and near-perfect ACT scores,鈥� the filing said, and they weren鈥檛 portrayed as athletes. Instead, Wilson aimed to get them nonplayer roles on sailing and crew teams at Harvard and Stanford. He said one daughter was actually a sailor, and the sports 鈥渇it their interests.鈥�
In court documents, prosecutors pointed to a phone conversation between Wilson and Singer caught on an FBI wiretap. In it, Wilson discussed options for his daughters, asking, 鈥淚s there a two-for-one special? If you got twins?鈥�
In one call, Wilson asked Singer which sports 鈥渨ould be best鈥� for his twin daughters. Singer responded that it 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 matter鈥� and that he would 鈥渕ake them a sailor or something鈥� because Wilson had a home on Cape Cod.
Wilson is one of two parents who have gone to trial in the case, which has ensnared nearly 60 parents as well as college athletics officials.
At the same trial as Wilson, Gamal Abdelaziz, a former casino executive was found guilty of paying $300,000 to get his daughter into USC as a basketball recruit even though she didn鈥檛 even make it onto her high school鈥檚 varsity team. Abdelaziz was sentenced to a year in prison.
Most other defendants have already pleaded guilty in the scheme and served their time. 鈥淒esperate Housewives鈥� star . 鈥淔ull House鈥� star and her fashion designer
Collin Binkley, The Associated Press
