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Federal prosecutors announced fraud and corruption charges in college basketball, including against 4 coaches.
The coaches who have been arrested are Auburn assistant Chuck Person, Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans, Arizona assistant Emanuel Richardson and USC assistant Tony Bland. They were four of ten people charged in New York City federal court. Furthermore, the U.S. DOJ announced that those charged include “managers, financial advisors, and representatives of a major international sportswear company.”
According to court documents, prosecutors said the FBI been investigating the criminal influence of money on charges and student-athletes who participate in intercollegiate basketball governed by the NCAA since 2015.
The documents said that the investigation revealed numerous instances of bribes paid by athlete advisers, including financial advisers and associate basketball coaches, to assistant and associate basketball coaches to exert influence over student-athletes.
via Bleacher Report:
Evans was named Oklahoma State’s associate head coach in March after spending 2016-17 as the Cowboys’ assistant coach and recruiting coordinator and the previous four seasons as an assistant at South Carolina.
The 53-year-old Person is a 14-year NBA veteran who has been an assistant at Auburn under head coach Bruce Pearl since 2014 and is currently the Tigers’ associate head coach.
Richardson is a longtime college basketball assistant who served under Sean Miller at Xavier from 2007 through 2009 before following him to Arizona.
Bland played collegiately at Syracuse and San Diego State. He was an assistant coach for two seasons at San Diego State and has been USC’s associate head coach since 2014-15.
Further specifics about the charges will be announced later during a press conference held at the U.S. Attorney’s Office New York City.
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