An exonerated Varsity Blues dad is fighting back.
John Wilson has just won a court battle with Netflix. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court refused to dismiss his defamation suit against the video streaming giant.
The fair report privilege is at play, with Netflix claiming it is protected by the legal precedent in airing the 2021 documentary “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal.”
A single justice of the SJC wrote the argument to drop the case wasn’t strong enough.
“The motion to dismiss is DENIED,” the ruling states, adding that the arguments to toss are too weak at this “stage” in the blockbuster lawsuit.
“I applaud the Massachusetts Superior Court. This decision marks a turning point in how we view media responsibility, especially Big Media,” said William Charles Tanenbaum, lead attorney for the Wilsons. “The court has made it clear that Netflix, and, by extension, other Big Media companies, cannot simply insulate themselves by claiming the fair report privilege when they knowingly misrepresent facts and cause harm to individuals.”
Netflix directed all comments to corporate contacts who could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wilson, of Lynnfield, and his son, Johnny, filed the complaint in Barnstable Superior Court alleging the entertainment company and its producers defamed them in the documentary.
Federal prosecutors alleged and convicted Wilson on a charge that he paid more than $1.2 million to secure his children’s admissions to elite universities — Harvard University, the University of Southern California, and Stanford University — as athletic recruits.
But the Wilsons and Tanenbaum say none of Netflix’s depictions of the family are accurate and that the company “rushed” the production of the documentary, “poisoning public opinion and the jury pool months before Mr. Wilson’s trial even began.”
Wilson in February 2022 was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 15 months in prison — the largest penalty leveled in the case that swept up at least 50 defendants, including Hollywood stars Felicity Huffman and former “Full House” star Lori Laughlin.
Last May, the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Wilson’s admissions scam conviction. Months later, the prison sentencing was replaced by a year of probation involving a single tax-related charge that Wilson faced.
Wilson’s legal team is alleged to have provided Netflix a 450-plus page “written warning” before the documentary’s publication outlining the concerns the family had about the film, suggesting the company avoid “guilt-by-association or including any falsehoods.”
“Netflix willingly chose to group my highly qualified children and me into a scandal involving celebrities who, unlike me, pled guilty and acknowledged their roles in shameful actions like photoshopping images of fake athletes, cheating on tests and making bribe payments to coaches,” Wilson said in a statement.
His son, according to court papers, was both an excellent student and water polo player who earned his place at USC legitimately.
“Viewers could reasonably interpret” the documentary suggested otherwise. This case continues.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Police are investigating a shooting in Downtown Crossing that occurred Thursday night.
Officials said the shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. near Tremont and Temple Streets.
When officers arrived on scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound; he is expected to survive.
Police have not said if any arrests have been made.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Local News
An East Boston father is suing ICE, alleging immigration agents unlawfully stopped, arrested, and detained him because of his race and national origin despite having his legal status, his lawyers said.
Lawyers for Civil Rights filed the lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Jose Pineda, a 62-year-old Salvadoran immigrant who has lived in the U.S. for more than three decades and is authorized to remain and work through humanitarian relief, the nonprofit legal organization said in a press release.
The suit is seeking damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging false arrest, false imprisonment, assault, and severe emotional distress.
“I came to the United States to escape the civil war that devastated El Salvador. I worked hard, started a family, and built a life here,” said Pineda, who works as a landscaper and lives with his wife and 13-year-old daughter. “I never expected to feel that kind of fear again, much less in the United States.”
According to the 30-page complaint, written by LCR senior attorneys Victoria Miranda and Mirian Albert, Pineda has been a recipient of Temporary Protected Status, which allows certain foreign nationals from designated countries to live and work legally in the U.S.
Pineda also had a pending asylum petition and had been granted a T visa, which provides immigration protections to trafficking victims, the complaint states.
“We will not stand idly by as ICE wreaks havoc on immigrant families. Through racial profiling, ICE agents are carrying out an unquestionably discriminatory agenda,” Miranda said in the release. “The law exists to protect people like Mr. Pineda, and it must be enforced against ICE.”
The lawsuit stems from a May 2025 encounter in Weymouth, where Pineda was driving a landscaping truck to a job site when agents in unmarked ICE vehicles surrounded him, according to the complaint.
“The aggressive nature of the questioning made it clear to Mr. Pineda that he was not being judged based on any evidence of unlawful conduct, but rather on his identity, race, ethnicity, and/or national origin,” Pineda’s attorneys wrote.
The lawsuit alleges ICE officers then “forcibly” handcuffed and shackled Pineda before taking him to the agency’s field office in Burlington.
Officers searched Pineda’s belongings during the stop and again at the field office, allegedly confiscating $600 in cash that he intended to use to pay his family’s rent. The money has not been returned, according to the complaint.
Pineda spent two days in ICE custody under what the lawsuit describes as “cruel and inhumane conditions.”
“After what ICE did to me, and after everything my family has endured, I don’t know if I will ever truly feel safe again,” Pineda said.
According to the complaint, he was held in severely overcrowded cells containing more than 40 people — at times as many as 60 — leaving little room to sit and forcing him to remain standing for much of his detention. Detainees also allegedly shared a single toilet and sink without soap or toilet paper and were not provided toothbrushes, clean clothes, or showers.
Fluorescent lights remained on around the clock, making it difficult to sleep, while temperatures became “extremely cold” overnight and some detainees received only aluminum blanekts for warmth, the complaint states.
Pineda was given only a two-minute phone call during his detention and received two bottles of water each day, along with “inadequate and limited” food and water, according to the complaint.
“Mr. Pineda has suffered devastating and ongoing physical and emotional harm that has impacted all aspects of his life,” his attorneys wrote. “Mr. Pineda brings this action to seek accountability for these violent and traumatizing tortious acts of the ICE officers and to address the harms inflicted upon him.”
According to LCR, Pineda was released following advocacy by Centro Presente, a Massachusetts immigrant rights organization.
After his release, ICE initiated removal proceedings against him depsite his humanitarian protections, the organization said. Those proceedings were ultimately dismissed.
“ICE targeted Mr. Pineda based on nothing more than his perceived national origin and the nature of his work,” Albert said in the press release. “Our laws prohibit this kind of arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement. Through this lawsuit, we seek to hold the federal government accountable for the violence and harm inflicted on Mr. Pineda.”
ICE referred questions about the lawsuit to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
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BOSTON (WHDH) – A pedestrian was hit and killed in Roxbury Thursday morning.
The collision occurred just before 8:20 a.m. on Tremont Street.
Police said Tremont Street was closed in both directions between Brigham Circle and Roxbury Crossing.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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