By Nate Raymond
BOSTON (Reuters) -A U.S. federal judge ordered a new trial for a former University of Southern California water polo coach convicted of accepting bribes to help children get into the school as fake athletic recruits as part of a larger college admissions scandal, the judge announced on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston said prosecutors introduced improper evidence during the trial of Jovan Vavic, and misstated the law during their closing argument.
His trial was the second to result from the “Operation Varsity Blues” investigation, which exposed how wealthy parents went to extremes to secure spots for their children at schools like Stanford, Yale and USC.
A jury in April found Vavic guilty on three conspiracy and fraud counts. Vavic’s lawyers and the prosecution did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The investigation centered on William “Rick” Singer, a California college admissions consultant who admitted to masterminding a scheme to help clients’ children secure elite universities spots through cheating and bribery.
Fifty-three other people have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial, including actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.
Prosecutors said in exchange for $200,000 bribes, Vavic misled USC admissions officials into believing that unqualified high school students belonged on his championship water polo team.
The money included $100,000 for his water polo program to designate the son of private equity financier John Wilson as a recruit and nearly $120,000 that Singer paid to cover the private school tuition of Vavics’ sons, prosecutors said.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in BostonEditing by Chris Reese and Josie Kao)
