The first of three trials into allegations of bribery and corruption within college basketball recruiting circles is set to begin in New York, nearly one year after the FBI and Department of Justice announced the joint investigation that ultimately led to the firing of Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino at Louisville.
Monday’s court proceedings will focus on Adidas executive James Gatto and consultant Merl Code, who are accused of funneling bribes to the families of high-profile recruits in exchange for the players’ commitment to play for particular schools.
Christian Dawkins, a sports agency employee, and financial advisor Munish Sood are accused of brokering the deals in order to secure future business when the recruits eventually turned professional.
Monday’s court proceedings will focus on Adidas executive James Gatto (left) and consultant Merl Code, who are accused of funneling bribes to the families of high-profile recruits in exchange for the players’ commitment to play for particular schools. Christian Dawkins (right), a sports agency employee, and financial advisor Munish Sood are accused of brokering the deals in order to secure promises from the recruits to retain their professional services when the players eventually turned professional
In September of 2017, acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Joon H. Kim announced that the investigation, launched in 2015, focuses on ‘the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate basketball governed by the N.C.A.A.’ Kim referred to the underground economy as the ‘dark underbelly’ of college athletics
In September of 2017, acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan Joon H. Kim announced that the investigation, launched in 2015, focuses on ‘the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate basketball governed by the N.C.A.A.’ Kim referred to the underground economy as the ‘dark underbelly’ of college athletics.
Two separate schemes have been investigated: One in which recruits and their families allegedly received bribes in exchange for commitments to specific universities, and another in which player advisers were supposedly paid to persuade the athletes to sign with certain managers, agents, and financial advisers.
Although he was not criminally charged, Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino did lose his job at Louisville during the scandal’s fallout
In 2019, another trial is expected to start involving four assistant basketball coaches, including former NBA star and Auburn assistant Chuck Person, who is accused of soliciting bribes and honest services fraud.
Pitino, 65, was ousted from Louisville in 2017 amid the multiyear, multi-school investigation into the alleged payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks designed to influence recruits. He has denied any wrongdoing.
While no charges were filed against Pitino or his assistant coaches, the Cardinals program was implicated in an alleged plot to pay recruit Brian Bowen’s family $100,000, which led to the dismissal of Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich.
One of the two schemes investigated by federal authorities involves player advisers allegedly paying assistant coaches to persuade the athletes to sign with certain managers, agents, and financial advisers when they went to the professional ranks
One of the two schemes investigated involves recruits and their families allegedly receiving bribes in exchange for commitments to specific universities
According to federal prosecutors, Gatto and Code colluded with Dawkins, the 25-year-old former sports agency rep, Sood and Brad Augustine, who ran an AAU program that was sponsored by Adidas. The hope, according to the complaint, was that the five-star recruit would attend Louisville, hire Sood, and ultimately agree to an endorsement deal with Adidas when he turned professional.
Former top recruit Brian Bowen has not been charged with any crime, but his family was accused of receiving a bribe in exchange for his commitment to Louisville. After transferring to South Carolina, he now plays for the Sidney Kings of Australia’s NBL
And since the alleged payments were illegal, they were supposedly laundered using fake purchase orders, invoices and related documents to make them appear legitimate.
Bowen has not been charged with any crime. After transferring to South Carolina, he now plays for the Sidney Kings of Australia’s National Basketball League.
In response to the investigation, the NCAA started its own committee on college basketball, headed by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and aimed ending corruption in recruiting circles.
The NCAA has since announced several major rule changes, the most significant of which allows college players to have a relationship with agents. However, only players identified as an elite prospect by USA Basketball beginning July 1 before their senior year would be eligible to do so.
NCAA president Mark Emmert has steadfastly refused to consider allowing players to be compensated, either by the schools or by sponsors.
In March, the NCAA reported that its 2017 revenue exceeded $1 billion.
In 2019, another trial is expected to start involving four assistant basketball coaches, including former NBA star and Auburn assistant Chuck Person (right), who is accused of soliciting bribes and honest services fraud. Other accused assistant coaches include Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State, Emanuel Richardson of Arizona, and Tony Bland of USC