NEW BRUNSWICK — A Rutgers University student from Middlesex County and his father are part of a class-action lawsuit against acclaimed universities caught up in the admissions scandal involving the actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

Fifty people were charged Tuesday in a scheme in which wealthy parents are accused of bribing college coaches and other insiders to get their children into some of the nation’s most selective schools.

Federal authorities called it the biggest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the U.S. Justice Department, with the parents accused of paying an estimated $25 million in bribes.

According to the federal court lawsuit obtained by NJ.com, Nicholas James Johnson and his father James claim the scandal cost him admission to Stanford University and the University of Texas despite having "near perfect" SAT scores and a high GPA. He instead went to Rutgers University.

The plaintiffs seek the return of their application fees of between $50 and $100 and unspecified damages, according to the report.

No New Jersey school was involved in the scandal.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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