Gamal Abdelaziz, also known as Gamal Aziz, was today (Asia time) sentenced to a year in prison and a US$250,000 fine after being convicted of paying US$300,000 to bribe his daughter’s way into a university as part of the “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal.
His sentence by US District Judge Nathaniel Gorton in Boston is the longest anyone has received in the scandal to date. Fifty-seven people have been charged in the investigation, in which parents conspired with college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer to pay bribes to secure prestigious college admissions for their children.
Judge Gorton said he was sending a message to rich parents unscrupulous enough to follow Aziz’s actions. The judge said Aziz showed a “lack of integrity, morality and common sense” and that Aziz “stole an admission spot at a good college from a deserving student who did not have all your advantages.”
Aziz was President and Executive Director of Wynn Macau Limited from January 2014 to September 2016, and was responsible for the development and opening of Wynn Palace, which opened on 22 August 2016.
Outside the courtroom Aziz’s lawyer said Aziz intends to appeal the decision.