Federal prosecutors in New York have indicted four NCAA men’s basketball assistant coaches on charges of fraud and corruption.
One of them, Lamont Evans, worked under current University of Illinois head coach Brad Underwood when he was the head coach at Oklahoma State University. Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim says these charges paint an ugly picture of college basketball.
“Month after month, the defendants exploited the hoop dreams of student-athletes around the country, allegedly treating them as little more than opportunities to enrich themselves through bribery and fraud schemes.”
Authorities say agents and financial advisers paid bribes to assistant coaches to get them to introduce them to start college players and their parents before the students turned professional. A University of Illinois athletic department spokesman has not returned a request for comment.