"Varsity Blues" defendant persuades First Circuit to overturn principal convictions

Client(s) Wilson, John

Jones Day secured a major appellate victory for John Wilson, one of the "Varsity Blues" defendants, in convincing the First Circuit to vacate all of his principal convictions. In the first appellate decision relating to the "Varsity Blues" cases, the court agreed with Jones Day that the government's primary legal theory exceeded the scope of the federal fraud laws, and that its prosecution below exceeded the scope of federal conspiracy law. As a result, the court vacated all of Wilson's principal convictions, which the government declined to retry. On remand, the district court re-sentenced Mr. Wilson to a probationary term on the sole remaining charge, which related to a discrete tax offense.

United States v. Wilson, No. 22-1138 (1st Cir.)