BOSTON—Determined to get their children into the University of Southern California and other elite schools, two wealthy parents falsely portrayed the teens as recruited athletes and knew the money they gave a college counselor and others served as payments in exchange for admission offers, prosecutors told jurors in opening statements at the first criminal trial in the Varsity Blues college-admissions case.

The case is about “lies, lies to obtain admissions spots that were bought and paid for,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Wright in the government’s opening salvo. “It was a sprawling conspiracy that extended from coast to coast. None of these kids were getting recruited to play collegiate sports without the money.”

The trial kicked off Monday, more than two years after the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts charged dozens of people—ultimately 57—in what they called a complex fraud and bribery scheme. College counselor William “Rick” Singer has admitted to working with parents and others to rig teens’ SAT and ACT scores, and to bribe coaches at schools including USC, Stanford and Yale universities to fraudulently present applicants as recruited athletes, all but guaranteeing they would get in. He is awaiting sentencing.

Forty-six defendants, including Hollywood stars, Division I coaches and test proctors, have pleaded guilty.

Private-equity investor John Wilson, charged in the college-admissions case, arriving at court in Boston last week.

Photo: brian snyder/Reuters

One of those parents, Northern California real estate investor Bruce Isackson, was called as the government’s first witness and said he knew all along what Mr. Singer’s scheme entailed.

Monday’s trial features two defendants: Gamal Abdelaziz, a former Wynn Resorts executive, and John Wilson, a private-equity investor, stand accused of working with Mr. Singer to fraudulently pitch their children as star athletes and of bribing staff at USC to have them flagged as recruits. Mr. Wilson also allegedly worked with Mr. Singer to try slotting his twin daughters into Harvard and Stanford universities as sailing recruits.

Defense lawyers said their clients were bamboozled by Mr. Singer, and portrayed the money paid by their clients as legitimate donations and part of accepted fundraising practices in the admissions system.

“John Wilson did not break the law,” said Mr. Wilson’s lawyer, Michael Kendall, a partner with White & Case LLP. “He trusted a con man who stole his money.”

Mr. Singer was a “smooth talker” and Mr. Abdelaziz and others “got sucked in by him,” said his attorney, Brian Kelly, a partner with Nixon Peabody LLP.

The federal trial is expected to last a month and rely heavily on audiotapes from phone calls federal agents recorded between Mr. Singer and his clients, as well as transcripts of conversations and email correspondence.

Prosecutors laid out a narrative of the two fathers’ involvement that hinged on the defendants having a tacit understanding of what services they were paying for—packaging their children as phony recruits—and how the money would be used.

The case is “not about wealthy people donating money to universities with the hope that their children get preferential treatment in the admissions process,” Ms. Wright said, referencing the defense’s claim these were standard gifts, not bribes.

Prosecutors said Mr. Abdelaziz allegedly paid $300,000 and conspired with Mr. Singer in 2017 to get Mr. Abdelaziz’s daughter, Sabrina, into USC as a basketball recruit using false credentials touting her as a top-ranked player “when in reality, she didn’t even make the varsity team.” She was admitted, but never played basketball for USC.

Mr. Kelly, Mr. Abdelaziz’s lawyer, called USC a “fundraising machine” and said his client thought he was just making a regular donation, with the possibility but no promise it would help his daughter.

Mr. Kelly acknowledged the basketball profile was fake but said Mr. Singer created it, and that his client never saw it because it was sent to an email account Mr. Abdelaziz didn’t use.

Prosecutors said Mr. Wilson worked with Mr. Singer beginning in 2013 to get his son, Johnny, flagged as a water-polo recruit at USC and again in 2018 to help his twin daughters land spots as sailing recruits elsewhere. He allegedly paid more than $1.5 million for the arrangements.

Johnny Wilson also got into USC, and quit the water polo team after his first semester.

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Ms. Wright offered previews of some of the recorded calls the prosecution is expected to play at trial, including, she said, one in which Mr. Wilson acknowledged his daughters weren’t good athletes but perhaps could be water girls or mascots for a team.

She said Mr. Wilson also took write-offs for the deal as business expenses and charitable contributions, and said the jury will hear from Mr. Wilson’s tax preparers.

Mr. Kendall, Mr. Wilson’s lawyer, said Johnny Wilson was a strong water polo player who joined the USC squad as one of 13 redshirted freshmen but withdrew after his third concussion.

Mr. Kendall also suggested Mr. Wilson never saw the embellished recruiting profile Mr. Singer emailed to an allegedly corrupt insider at USC.

“Rick Singer is one of the great con men of our time,” he said. “He specialized in stealing from rich people, and he stole over half of John’s donation to USC.”

Ms. Wright, the assistant U.S. attorney, also described Mr. Singer as flawed, saying he misled parents about his background, business and even where some payments would go. She said he deleted text messages and lied to investigators at times.

But, she said, Mr. Singer was clear with parents on one thing: “In exchange for their payments, the coach or athletic department insider would secure an athletic recruitment slot for their children, which would effectively guarantee their admission.”

The government also tried to refute the argument that the two businessmen on trial were duped by bringing Mr. Isackson to testify.

He and his wife, Davina Isackson, admitted in 2019 to conspiring with Mr. Singer to get their two daughters into the University of California, Los Angeles and USC as phony athletic recruits—and also paid to have one daughter’s test scores altered.

Speaking initially about his older daughter, Mr. Isackson said from the witness stand that he always knew what Mr. Singer’s plan was: to get her into USC as a soccer recruit, using a false profile.

When asked whether she was qualified to play there, Mr. Isackson said, “Not even close, no,” and that he knew it wasn’t a legitimate path to admission.

He said Mr. Singer used the word “donation” with him, but he knew it was no normal donation. He said Mr. Singer even promised he would get his money back if the plan fell through.

“Have you ever asked for [a donation] back if you didn’t get something in exchange?” asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank.

“Never,” Mr. Isackson said.

From the Archives

In March 2019, Federal prosecutors detailed a more than $25 million scam to help wealthy families bribe their way into elite colleges. The scheme allegedly involved bogus exam scores and falsified athletic achievements. The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition

Write to Melissa Korn at melissa.korn@wsj.com and Jennifer Levitz at jennifer.levitz@wsj.com