A man once implicated in the “Varsity Blues” scandal has hired a former official from the first President Donald Trump administration as part of his legal team in which the plaintiff and his wife seek the return of a $100,000 donation they made in connection with their son Johnny’s admission to USC, plus $75 million for alleged fraud and deceit by the university.
Massachusetts businessman John B. Wilson and his wife, Leslie Q. Wilson, sued the university last Sept. 20. On Thursday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly J. Fujie approved the out-of-state application of Washington, D.C. attorney Steven A. Engel to co-represent the couple.
Engel is now in private practice with the law firm Dechert LLP, but during the first Trump administration Engel served as the U.S. assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.
In November 2019, Engel argued that White House advisors had complete immunity against being subpoenaed to testify in the impeachment inquiry against Trump. A year later, Trump identified Engel among a list of potential future nominees to the Supreme Court.
The Varsity Blues scandal was allegedly led by William “Rick” Singer by operating a college admissions consulting company and a fraudulent charity, then working with upscale families to get their children into top schools, in part through the manipulation of SAT and ACT score results.
In their court papers, the Wilsons’ attorneys allege that key USC figures, including head water polo coach Jovan Vavic, Assistant Athletic Director Alex Garfio and Associate Athletic Director Ron Orr, assured the Wilsons that their donation was legitimate and conformed to university policies.