Opening arguments began for the first trial in the “Varsity Blues” scandal Monday, with prosecutors telling jurors the two parents charged in the case, which they described as one about “lies to obtain admissions spots,” paid huge bribes to get their children into prestigious universities.
Meanwhile, defense attorneys with White & Case and Nixon Peabody painted their clients as victims of college counselor Rick Singer, who orchestrated the admissions-cheating scam. Singer has admitted he helped rig the test scores of and falsify athletic records for the children of wealthy parents who made payments to his Key Worldwide Foundation. Singer later cooperated with the FBI in its investigation into the scheme.
