While many believed the “Varsity Blues” college admission scandal had been left in the past, one accused parent has reignited the scandal by claiming fraud and deceit at the hands of the University.

John Wilson — the father of a USC alum connected to the “Varsity Blues” scandal — filed a lawsuit against USC on Sept. 20, claiming fraud and deceit by the University. The Wilson family is seeking $75 million in damages.

Federal prosecutors charged more than 50 parents for participating in a college admission scheme, now known as “Operation Varsity Blues” in March 2019. Prosecutors charged the involved parents with bribing coaches and administrators, helping their children cheat on exams and faking athletic profiles to secure their children’s admission to a college of their choosing. The officials accused 15 parents of conspiring to bribe their children’s way into USC.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

While living in Massachusetts at the time, Wilson was charged with fraud and bribery conspiracy for bribing his son into the USC’s 2014 water polo team, but pleaded not guilty.

He was convicted of the charges by a federal jury in 2021. In 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit unanimously overturned all the convictions against Wilson because the ruling prosecutors had not proved the Wilsons’ conspiracy with William Singer. In 2023, Singer was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to defraud the United States. 

Wilson’s lawyer, William Tanenbaum, said unlike many of the parents indicted in the “Varsity Blues” scandal, the charges were false: Wilson did not participate in the admission schemes. Wilson claims that his son, Johnny Wilson, was an actual Division-I water polo player and a full participating member of USC’s 2014 water polo team. 

In the spring of 2014, the Wilsons made a $220,000 donation to USC Athletics through Singer’s organization, including the separate donation of $120,000 that was made to Singer’s IRS-certified foundation to help the team travel to Europe. 

Tanenbaum said the Wilsons received a “Thank You” letter signed by USC’s associate athletic director, Ron Orr, that said maintaining state-of-the-art facilities is an essential part of USC’s “commitment to excellence.” Tanenbaum said nowhere in the letter did it mention that what Orr described as a “gift” was ultimately considered by USC to be illicit or illegal.

 “This lawsuit, which dredges up events that occurred as many as 10 years ago, has no legal merit,” the University wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. “After Mr. Wilson was criminally charged back in 2019, USC made a number of significant changes to prevent abuse of the athletics admission process.”

Tanenbaum said that this lawsuit is to hold USC accountable for concealing “material facts” to get the Willsons to donate $100,000 to the USC Athletic Fund in 2014. Tanenbaum said the Wilsons originally donated $220,000 to USC but that $120,000 was embezzled by Singer. 

In the lawsuit, Wilson accuses USC of fraud. Tanenbaum said the Wilsons discovered how USC treated the legality of their donation around September 2021. Rebecca Chassin, a USC admissions officer, later told the Wilsons that donations are not considered in the admissions process for any non-scholarship athletes, contradictory to what the Wilsons thought and revealed that their donation was considered an illegal bribe by the University.

Tanenbaum said the second cause of action was deceit and negligent misrepresentation, alleging the University misrepresented the true nature of the Wilsons’ donation by refraining from telling the Wilsons the donations were considered illegal bribes. Tanenbaum said the Wilsons justifiably trusted the University’s misrepresentation, because they were coming from top administrators within USC Athletics. 

“We hope that through this legal process, the truth of what USC did will be fully revealed, and justice will be served, not only to clear Mr. Wilson’s name but also to hold USC accountable for their actions,” Tanenbaum wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. “Additionally, we urge USC to be transparent about its admissions practices, particularly as it relates to donor families to prevent such injustices from occurring in the future.”