‘Varsity Blues’ USC Coach Gets New Trial on Fraud Charge

The University of Southern California water polo coach tied to the “Varsity Blues” admissions scandal will get a new trial on a fraud charge but remains convicted on a bribery charge, a panel of First Circuit judges ruled.

It’s impossible to tell if the jury reached its guilty verdict on Jovan Vavic’s honest services wire fraud charge using a recently invalidated legal theory, the judges said in a Friday opinion. The theory that was shot down in a separate “Varsity Blues” appeal argued that payments to USC could be considered “actionable bribes.”

USC was the victim of the bribery scheme and therefore cannot be considered to have received bribes under honest services fraud, the First Circuit found in US v Abdelaziz.

However, the panel in the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found misstatements by prosecutors during closing arguments weren’t enough to prompt a new trial for a separate charge—Vavic’s federal programs bribery conspiracy charge.

Prosecutors didn’t contradict jury instructions, and their statements likely didn’t impact the trial’s outcome, the judges said.

As coach, Vavic was paid to help students pose as members of the water polo team and get admitted to USC, according to prosecutors. The scandal ensnared dozens of ultra-wealthy parents, Hollywood stars, and college coaches. Vavic was the only coach to go to trial.

He was convicted in 2022, but granted a new trial after a district court found some evidence from the government wasn’t reliable.

For example, some of the payments from private equity investor John B. Wilson allegedly to secure his son’s admission went to the school’s water polo program, not Vavic, said Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Separately, Wilson sued USC in Los Angeles state court in September after his fraud and bribery convictions were overturned, asking for his six-figure donation back.

Judge Julie Rikelman wrote the opinion, and Judges Gustavo A. Gelpí and O. Rogeriee Thompson joined.

The case is US v. Vavic, 1st Cir., No. 22-1787, 5/30/25.