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   From: larry.krasner.communist@splcenter.com   
      
   hEIL tRUMP  wrote in   
   news:sesqa3$v84$44@news.dns-netz.com:   
      
   > Bradley K. Sherman wrote   
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   >> |   
   >> | A leader of the Texas Republican Party called Democrats what they   
   >> | are, a bunch of serial child-molesting freaks.   
      
   A federal appeals court overturned all fraud convictions Wednesday of two   
   parents who were found guilty of paying bribes to get their kids into   
   elite universities as part of a sprawling college admissions scandal.   
      
   The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed all convictions against Gamal   
   Abdelaziz and all but one conviction of another parent, John Wilson. The   
   Boston-based appeals court upheld Wilson's conviction on a charge of   
   filing a false tax return.   
      
   A jury in Boston's federal court found the pair guilty in 2021 of buying   
   their kids’ ways into school as athletic recruits in the first case to go   
   to trial in the so-called "Operation Varsity Blues" scandal that embroiled   
   prestigious universities across the country.   
      
   Abdelaziz, of Las Vegas, was accused of paying $300,000 to get his   
   daughter into the University of Southern California as a basketball   
   recruit even though she didn’t even make it onto her high school’s varsity   
   team.   
      
   Authorities alleged that Wilson, a former executive at Staples Inc., paid   
   $220,000 to have his son designated as a USC water polo recruit and an   
   additional $1 million to buy his twin daughters’ ways into Harvard and   
   Stanford.   
      
   Lawyers for Wilson and Abdelaziz argued that their clients believed they   
   were making legitimate donations and that the admissions consultant at the   
   center of the scandal, William "Rick" Singer, pitched his so-called "side   
   door" scheme as a lawful one. They said they were led to believe their   
   money would go directly to colleges, saying they’re no different than   
   other wealthy parents who make donations to get a boost in the admissions   
   process.   
      
   EX-YALE SOCCER COACH IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL TO SERVE 5 MONTHS IN   
   JAIL DESPITE 'RELIABLE' COOPERATION   
      
   The three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit said the trial judge was wrong in   
   instructing the jury that admissions slot constitutes "property" of the   
   universities under the mail and wire fraud law. The judges found that the   
   government also failed to prove that the parents agreed to join the   
   "overarching conspiracy among Singer and his clients."   
      
   The government was allowed to introduce a "significant amount of powerful   
   evidence related to other parents’ wrongdoing in which these defendants   
   played no part, creating an unacceptable risk that the jury convicted   
   Abdelaziz and Wilson based on others’ conduct rather than their own," the   
   judges wrote.   
      
   The ruling is a blow for prosecutors, who netted more than 50 convictions   
   in the scandal that ensnared prominent businesspeople, celebrities and   
   other wealthy parents across the country. Coaches from schools including   
   Yale, Stanford, Georgetown and the University of California, Los Angeles,   
   admitted to accepting bribes.   
      
   A spokesperson for Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins said her   
   office is reviewing the opinion and assessing its next steps.   
      
   Attorneys for Abdelaziz said in an emailed statement that their client   
   "has maintained his absolute innocence from day one and is enormously   
   grateful that the Appeals Court has reversed his unfair conviction."   
      
   EX-USC COACH'S COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCAM CONVICTION TOSSED, GETS NEW TRIAL   
   AS JUDGE QUESTIONS WHERE MONEY WENT   
      
   "We are pleased to have represented him in this matter and look forward to   
   Mr. Abdelaziz putting this behind him," attorneys Brian Kelly and Joshua   
   Sharp said.   
      
   Noel Francisco, Wilson's lawyer, said in an emailed statement that the   
   decision "confirms what we’ve known from the beginning —John Wilson’s case   
   is fundamentally different from others in the broader Varsity Blues   
   scandal."   
      
   "His children were all qualified for admission to these schools on their   
   own athletic and academic merits, and none of his money went to enrich any   
   coach but, rather, was directed to the schools themselves," Francisco   
   said. "We are examining the opinion to determine the appropriate next   
   steps."   
      
   Wilson was sentenced last year to 15 months in prison and Abdelaziz was   
   sentenced to a year behind bars, although the court later agreed that they   
   could remain free while they pursued their appeals.   
      
   Both men were convicted of fraud and bribery conspiracy, and Wilson was   
   convicted of additional charges of bribery, wire fraud and filing a false   
   tax return.   
      
   The ringleader of the scheme, Singer, was sentenced in January to 3 1/2   
   years in prison.   
      
   Among the most high-profile parents who admitted to charges were "Full   
   House" actor Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo   
   Giannulli, who paid $500,000 in bribes to get their two daughters into the   
   University of Southern California as crew team recruits, even though   
   neither of them played the sport. Loughlin served a two-month prison   
   sentence and Giannulli served a five-month sentence.   
      
   Others who pleaded guilty include "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity   
   Huffman, who paid $15,000 to boost her older daughter’s SAT scores.   
   Huffman was sentenced to 14 days behind bars.   
      
      
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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