FBI College Basketball Corruption Investigation

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#1,177      
Centennialillini
As relates to the FBI, in 2015 over 92% of the cases that went to trial resulted in a conviction. That figure does not count guilty pleas. The 3 districts in Illinois did not have one acquittal last year.

When the FBI has the time to do an investigation and I am not talking about investigations that are foisted on them by politicians and governmental agencies, they are one nasty organization.

To my impatient friend who said "a week has gone by and nothing more has happened", be patient. That is not how they work. If you a guilty coach that has not been outed, every day is hell now because you know the FBI will do what they do best. They will flip someone and you may be named. It might be months before you hear more.

The FBI does not hold those kinds of press conferences unless they are very confident of their information.
 
#1,178      
Innocent Primate
Just to chime in on what Centennialillini said. Not only did the FBI have the leisure to do what was essentially a “sting” operation, it turned the evidence it compiled over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which obviously concluded that sufficient evidence existed to indict. (As pointed out, U.S. Attorneys ain’t in the habit of commencing losing prosecutions.) Who do you indict out of the chute ? The easiest convictions — the folks you have dead to rights. Not only can the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Bureau put the screws to those indicted to learn more (which, I suspect, is what is presently or shortly will be happening, with the prospect of leniency at sentencing), but any resulting convictions (or, more likely, guilty pleas) will further put the fear of God in those who fear being implicated. That’s why the U.S. Attorney said, “Call us now, before it’s too late.” (I’m reminded of the old commercial showing a mechanic in front of a torn down engine, saying, “You can call us now for an oil change, or (pointing to the engine) you can call us later. The choice is yours.”)
 
#1,179      
sacraig
miketherevelator said:
Jeff Goodman‏Verified account @GoodmanESPN 1h1 hour ago

Statement from Arizona Coach Sean Miller: "I was devastated to learn last week of the allegations made against... http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0706998506685993326-4 …

If I recall from reading an AZ site last week, Richardson has worked with Miller for like 11 years.
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The president of the university announced the other day that they hired an independent law firm to run an internal investigation. It sounds like if the FBI or this investigation turn anything up on Miller, he will be canned.
 
#1,180      
Centennialillini
My nephew is a US attorney in another state. He was on the losing end one time in 25 years. He still hasn't gotten over it.

Soon the defense attorneys for these 4 coaches will have a "get right with Jesus" conversation with their defendants. Their careers in college coaching are basically over so what do we do to keep them out of jail. Turning states evidence has a nice ring to it.
 
#1,181      
IlliniMed
#1,188      
EJ33
rbachhuber said:
Oklahoma State coach speaks:

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/oklahoma-state-coach-speaks-for-first-time-since-assistant-arrested-in-fbi-probe/
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"I never had any suspicions," Boynton said of Evans' alleged illegal activity when he spoke to local media prior to OSU practice.
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A positive for Underwood that Boynton apparently didn't know either.

Another article said that Evans brought in an agent to see Evans at his hotel the night before a road game. I can't imagine any HC condoning that behavior - bringing in agents to meet with your star player the night before a road game? It seems pretty plausible that Underwood didn't know what Evans was up to in terms of the agent commissions. But, there are still recruiting violations that may surface.
 
#1,189      
illinitiger
EJ33 said:
A positive for Underwood that Boynton apparently didn't know either.

Another article said that Evans brought in an agent to see Evans at his hotel the night before a road game. I can't imagine any HC condoning that behavior - bringing in agents to meet with your star player the night before a road game? It seems pretty plausible that Underwood didn't know what Evans was up to in terms of the agent commissions. But, there are still recruiting violations that may surface.
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dont see it as a "recruiting" violation for agent to talk with a player....maybe some other violation but its also probably gray. fact that an asst coach is taking money to set up an agent affiliation with a college player is the biggest issue.
 
#1,190      
Deleted member 10676
Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 19s19 seconds ago
Jahvon Quinerly also said he is still committed to Arizona "for now."

Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 2m2 minutes ago
Five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly said his family has hired a lawyer, but has not yet been contacted by federal authorities.
 
#1,191      
Deleted member 10676
illinitiger said:
dont see it as a "recruiting" violation for agent to talk with a player....maybe some other violation but its also probably gray. fact that an asst coach is taking money to set up an agent affiliation with a college player is the biggest issue.
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Don't remember the paragraph number in the indictment papers but this is what they were referring to about potential recruiting violations.

http://kfor.com/2017/09/26/osu-assi...-involvement-in-ncaa-fraud-corruption-scheme/
The court documents show Evans' alleged involvement followed him to Stillwater.

He would reportedly take money to recruit high school basketball players to OSU in exchange for them to do business with others involved in the case once they reach the NBA.
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#1,192      
Deleted member 10676
It's the elephant in the room, even if you're only peripherally involved, and even if you don't want to talk about it. Worst possible time for it to hit.

Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 21m21 minutes ago
Bol Bol: "Some of the schools were under investigation. I just didn't really want to be a part of that."

Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 25m25 minutes ago
No. 4 prospect Bol Bol said he's down to Kentucky and Oregon. Visits Kentucky next week, visited Oregon last week. Arizona and USC out.
 
#1,193      
brillinian
miketherevelator said:
Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 19s19 seconds ago
Jahvon Quinerly also said he is still committed to Arizona "for now."

Jeff Borzello‏Verified account @jeffborzello 2m2 minutes ago
Five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly said his family has hired a lawyer, but has not yet been contacted by federal authorities.
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Is this one of the numbered players? Makes you wonder why his family has already hired a lawyer.
 
#1,196      
EJ33
illinitiger said:
dont see it as a "recruiting" violation for agent to talk with a player....maybe some other violation but its also probably gray. fact that an asst coach is taking money to set up an agent affiliation with a college player is the biggest issue.
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It's not a recruiting violation.

The point is that the agent commissions are not the biggest issue for Underwood (because he didn't benefit from them and it's really likely he didn't know about them.) The problem is that Evans may reveal recruiting violations when the Feds squeeze him. That's what Underwood has to worry about.
 
#1,197      
Deleted member 10676
icengineer said:
Why would the Feds give two hoots about NCAA violations? It's the money laundering and bribery which are federal crimes that they are policing. Sure, I can see how some NCCA violations come out in the course of things, but that will be incidental. The FBI couldn't care less about NCAA infractions, the vast majority of which are not crimes in the legal sense.
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That's the point. The FBI, will find the violations in relation to the stuff they're really after and schools and the NCAA will have to do something about it. You can't say our coaches and kids can play even if they paid the kids because the FBI found out about it and not the NCAA.
 
#1,198      
Calvin
icengineer said:
Why would the Feds give two hoots about NCAA violations? It's the money laundering and bribery which are federal crimes that they are policing. Sure, I can see how some NCCA violations come out in the course of things, but that will be incidental. The FBI couldn't care less about NCAA infractions, the vast majority of which are not crimes in the legal sense.
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I think that's his point.

The NCAA is in desperate need of reform, but in the meantime, it has a terrible track record on how it handles these things. With all the coaches speaking out against how the NCAA basically put the system in place that created this scandal, I think it's possible that the easiest course for them is to reform the rules regarding eligibility, so the pressure is alleviated. But until all the facts come out, we just don't know if it will impact us. From a recruiting perspective, it will be used against us. Also, if the posts about recruiting are correct, it sounds like the administration did a review and preemptively addressed procedures to ensure we're looking clean.

It's worth saying: anyone who's close to law enforcement will tell you they're not in the business of being nice to the innocent. They're their to find and prosecute the guilty. There's a relatively prevalent attitude that doing so may inconvenience others, but that's part of the system.

I got stressed the first time I recently had to go to traffic court, even knowing it was a bad ticket! (and thankfully the judge saw that too). Hard to imagine how this kind of incident plays on them.
 
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#1,199      
illinitiger
EJ33 said:
It's not a recruiting violation.

The point is that the agent commissions are not the biggest issue for Underwood (because he didn't benefit from them and it's really likely he didn't know about them.) The problem is that Evans may reveal recruiting violations when the Feds squeeze him. That's what Underwood has to worry about.
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"agent commission" sounds so much nicer than "bribe":). I still think the answer is give HS kids a more direct path to NBA and ability to get paid sooner, instead of forcing a year in college (reverse the one and done rule).

Just curious, are "agent commissions " legal for non-coaches...or is at all considered bribes?
 
#1,200      
illinitiger
icengineer said:
That it does!! In other fields it's called commissions, bonuses, finders fees, etc... Perfectly legal as long as you declare the income and pay your taxes on it. ;) The main issue is that there are employees of Federally funded institutions (schools) accepting bribes which is totally illegal. And the money used for the bribes is being laundered, or hidden, by various financial entities including agents, financial advisors, shoe companies, etc...
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OK,...apologize if I'm too geekish but Im really trying to understand the laws surrounding this stuff.

So given this legal explanation on bribe vs agent commission and assuming a legit agent (who claims commisions on their corp taxes)...

sounds like it would be legal for the agent to pre-pay an agent commission to Jawun Evans' mom or dad or previous AAU coach, but it is illegal for the asst coach (Lamont E.) to receive an agent commission since he works for a public institution ( OSU) that theoretically receives some federal funds as a learning institution, is that accurate?

Logically that would mean a non-public school such as Northwestern,.. the asst coach should be free to receive an agent commission anytime, since its not a public institution.

Is that accurate interpretation of the law?
 
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