A Massachusetts man who paid more than $1 million to secure his children’s admissions to elite universities as “athletic recruits” has received the longest sentence yet in the Varsity Blues college scandal.
John Wilson, 62, of Lynnfield, on Wednesday was sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge to 15 months in prison, two years of supervised release, 400 hours of community service, and a fine of $200,000. The private-equity investor and former senior Staples executive was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $88,546 to the IRS.
Wilson paid more than $1.2 million to secure the admission of his three children to Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and Stanford University as purported Division I athletic recruits.
The 15-month sentence in the Varsity Blues case surpassed the previous long sentence of 12 months and 1 day, which was handed down last week to ex-Wynn Resorts executive Gamal Abdelaziz.
Wilson in 2013 agreed to pay William “Rick” Singer $220,000 to facilitate his son’s admission to USC as a purported water polo recruit. The scheme involved presenting Wilson’s son to USC’s subcommittee on athletic admissions using a water polo profile that included fabricated credentials, awards and swim times.
After Wilson’s son was accepted to USC, Wilson wired: $100,000 to Singer’s sham charity, Key Worldwide Foundation; $100,000 to Singer’s company, The Key; and $20,000 directly to Singer.
Wilson paid the bribe from the…
