October 8, 2018 Litigation / NCAA / Rights

Shocking Testimony Heard at NCAA Corruption/Bribery Trial

On October 3, 2018, weeks before the start of the college basketball season, shocking testimony was heard in the NCAA Corruption/Bribery Trial. As we have previously reported, on February 21, 2018, Yahoo Sports reported that financial records, documents, and wiretaps tied to prominent former NBA agent, Andy Miller, and his former associate, Christian Dawkins, provided the prosecution with a detailed window into the ongoing NCAA Corruption and Bribery scandal. The scandal, now case, involves Adidas executive Jim Gatto, Adidas contractor Merl Code, and sports …

April 11, 2018 NCAA

Scope of NCAA Corruption and Bribery Case Grows

On April 10, 2018, attorney Robert S. Khuzami added the University of Kansas and North Carolina State University to the list of NCAA basketball programs involved in the NCAA corruption and bribery case. As we have continued to cover, this case involves Adidas executive Jim Gatto, Adidas contractor Merl Code, and sports business manager Christian Dawkins. Each stand accused of facilitating six-figure payments to basketball players and their families in exchange for promises that the players would enroll at Adidas sponsored NCAA Division I …

March 1, 2018 NCAA

NCAA President Responds to Corruption/Bribery Case Report

On February 23, 2018, NCAA president, Mark Emmert, released a statement in response to allegations made in a Yahoo Sports report. As we have previously covered, Yahoo Sports reported that financial records, documents, and wiretaps tied to prominent former NBA agent, Andy Miller, and his former associate, Christian Dawkins, have provided the federal prosecution with a detailed window into the ongoing NCAA corruption/bribery case. According to the documents, payments as high as $73,000 were paid to current NCAA basketball players like Duke University’s, …

February 26, 2018 NCAA

NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case Update

On February 21, 2018, Yahoo Sports reported that financial records, documents, and wiretaps tied to prominent former NBA agent, Andy Miller, and his former associate, Christian Dawkins, have provided the prosecution with a detailed window into the ongoing NCAA Corruption and Bribery case. As we have continued to report, this case involves Adidas executive Jim Gatto, Adidas contractor Merl Code, and sports business manager Christian Dawkins. Each stand accused of facilitating six-figure payments to basketball players and their families in exchange for promises that …

February 16, 2018 NCAA

Judge Denies Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case

On February 15, 2018, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan denied defendants, Christian Dawkins, Jim Gatto, and Merl Code, motion to dismiss corruption and bribery charges. As we have previously reported, Adidas executive Jim Gatto, Adidas contractor Merl Code, and sports business manager Christian Dawkins were accused of facilitating six-figure payments to basketball players and their families in exchange for promises that the players would enroll in Adidas sponsored NCAA Division I schools and later would hire Dawkins.

In their motion to dismiss, Gatto, Code, and …

February 14, 2018 NCAA

Filing Mistake Could Cost Government in NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case

On February 9, 2018, defendants in the NCAA corruption and bribery case filed a motion to suppress key government evidence. The motion outlines several procedural breaches, the most important is the claim of “a failure to identify the authorizing justice official” in paperwork to obtain a warrant for a wiretap. On April 7, 2017, a court issued an order permitting the federal government to wiretap Munish Sood’s cellphone for thirty days. The goal of the wiretap was to target communications between Mr. Sood and Christian …

November 17, 2017 NCAA

Adidas Executive Asserts No Universities Defrauded in NCAA Bribe Case

On November 15, 2017, the attorney for Adidas executive Jim Gatto told a Manhattan federal judge that no colleges were defrauded. Gatto was charged in a bribery scheme to pay college basketball athletes to play for Adidas-sponsored schools and to hire certain agents after they went professional. Gatto was arrested in September and was Adidas’ head of global sports marketing directed at basketball. In addition, Merl Code, an Adidas consultant, and Christian Dawkins, a former NBA agent, pled not guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges.…