{"id":200933,"date":"2022-02-08T15:47:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T23:47:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=200933"},"modified":"2022-02-08T16:54:23","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T00:54:23","slug":"college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Casino Exec Faces Stiff Sentence in College Admissions Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former casino executive found guilty of fraud in the 2019 college admissions scandal should face the longest sentence of all 33 parents charged in the case, federal prosecutors have said.<\/p>\n

\"gamal
Gamal Abdelaziz arrives for a hearing of his fraud trial at a Boston courtroom in October. Feds say his participation in compiling a bogus USC application and persistent refusal to admit culpability warrants a stiff sentence. (Image: AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a memo filed Friday to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, lawyers for the US government recommended Gamal Abdelaziz serve 14 months of incarceration and 24 months of supervised release. They also said he should pay a $250,000 fine and serve 400 hours of community service.<\/p>\n

A Boston jury convicted Abdelaziz in October of fraud and bribery conspiracy. Jurors agreed that the former Wynn Resorts president and MGM Resorts CEO paid $300,000 to corrupt college admissions consultant William Singer, with knowledge it would be used for bribery.<\/p>\n

This was to get his daughter into the University of Southern California as a basketball recruit, even though she didn\u2019t make her high-school varsity team.<\/p>\n

\u2018Repeated Lies\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prosecutors argue that Abdelaziz deserved a harsher sentence because, unlike other parents, he was directly involved with Singer in producing fraudulent documents to aid his daughter\u2019s application.<\/p>\n

They also cited his \u201crepeated lies,\u201d which they said were designed to \u201ccover up his crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter continually arguing to a jury that the FBI \u2018framed\u2019 him and that the charges against him were a \u2018set up,\u2019 he was convicted on all counts,\u201d reads the memo. \u201cEven to this day, at sentencing, the defendant lodges \u201cnot credible\u201d and \u201cnot believable\u201d objections to facts establishing his culpability, and he accepts no responsibility for his conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seriousness of the defendant\u2019s crimes and his deep involvement in the bribery and fraud scheme justify a meaningful term of incarceration,\u201d <\/strong>it adds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Singer ran a California-based business called The Key that mingled legitimate services with his fraudulent admissions scam. The latter involved bribing coaches and administrators at elite universities to nominate the unqualified children of well-heeled parents as elite recruited athletes.<\/p>\n

Embroiled parents included many prominent businesspeople, as well as the actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin.<\/p>\n

Most pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from one to six months in prison, among fines and other penalties.<\/p>\n

Singer Sings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Egyptian-born Abdelaziz was one of just two accused who contested the charges. His lawyers argued he was one of Singer\u2019s victims. They claimed he was told the $300,000 payment was simply a \u201cdonation\u201d to USC that might help his application and was unaware it was illegal.<\/p>\n

But prosecutors produced recordings of telephone conversations showing that Abdelaziz helped create a phony athletics profile for his daughter. He even sent Singer a photograph of a basketball player who was not his daughter for use in the application.<\/p>\n

Abdelaziz approved the final draft. He told Singer he \u201cloved\u201d the idea that the fake application was so convincing, it could be used as a template for future fraudulent applications to USC.<\/p>\n

At this point, the FBI had caught up with Singer and he was cooperating with the US government.<\/p>\n

Having lifted himself from poverty in Egypt to become a successful business executive who saw his first two children attend prestigious universities on their own merit, the defendant had no need to rely on cheating, lies, and bribery to secure his third child\u2019s admission to college. And he knew better,\u201d<\/strong> prosecutors said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhatever misguided reasons motivated him \u2014 love for his child, self-aggrandizement, or simply the spoiled desire to secure for his daughter something she wanted but could not herself achieve \u2014 the defendant was fully aware, at the time he was committing crimes, that what he was doing was wrong. And that is why he repeatedly agreed to lie to cover it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abdelaziz is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former casino executive found guilty of fraud in the 2019 college admissions scandal should face the longest sentence of all 33 parents charged in the case, federal prosecutors have said. In a memo filed Friday to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts, lawyers for the US government recommended Gamal Abdelaziz serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":200935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCollege Admissions Scandal: Feds Want Stiff Sentence for Casino Exec<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A former casino executive found guilty of fraud in the 2019 college admissions scandal should face the longest sentence of all 33 parents charged in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"College Admissions Scandal: Feds Want Stiff Sentence for Casino Exec\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former casino executive found guilty of fraud in the 2019 college admissions scandal should face the longest sentence of all 33 parents charged in the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-08T23:47:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-09T00:54:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/gamal2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"799\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/\",\"name\":\"College Admissions Scandal: Feds Want Stiff Sentence for Casino Exec\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/gamal2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-08T23:47:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-09T00:54:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"A former casino executive found guilty of fraud in the 2019 college admissions scandal should face the longest sentence of all 33 parents charged in the\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/college-admissions-scandal-feds-want-stiff-sentence-for-casino-exec\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/gamal2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/gamal2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799,\"caption\":\"Gamal Abdelaziz arrives for a hearing of his fraud trial at a Boston courtroom in October. 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