Former National Basketball Association star Chuck Person admitted to taking thousands of dollars in bribes to steer college players to hire a financial adviser after they turned professional.
Person, who was the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1986-1987 season, was the highest-profile defendant ensnared in a crackdown on bribery, corruption and fraud in college basketball. His guilty plea, entered Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, comes just before the annual championship tournament known as March Madness is set to begin. In two days, Auburn University, where Person played and coached, is scheduled to compete against New Mexico State in the first round.
Person, 54, is pleading to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he’d serve 24 to 30 months in prison. Had he been convicted at trial he would have faced as much as five years. Under his plea agreement, Person will forfeit the $91,500 in bribes he received from the financial adviser, who was cooperating with law enforcement.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.