Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person has been charged with corruption in a sworn complaint from the FBI and arrested on federal charges.
Person, who has been on Bruce Pearl's staff at Auburn since 2014, is facing six charges, including bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes and gratuities, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and travel act conspiracy, according to court documents. If found guilty, Person could face a maximum of 80 years in prison.
Auburn suspended Person indefinitely and without pay on Tuesday in the wake of the news.
"This morning's news is shocking," the university said in a released statement. "We are saddened, angry and disappointed. We have suspended Coach Person without pay effective immediately. We are committed to playing by the rules, and that's what we expect from our coaches. In the meantime, Auburn is working closely with law enforcement, and we will help them in their investigation in any way we can."
Multiple university officials confirmed a 247Sports report Tuesday night that Auburn has retained the services of the Birmingham law firm Lightfoot, Franklin and White to conduct an internal review of the men's basketball program. That same law firm was hired last month by president Steven Leath to conduct a comprehensive review of Auburn's softball program.
The charges stem from an ongoing FBI investigation into "the criminal influence of money on coaches and student-athletes" in the NCAA that dates back to 2015. Bill Sweeney, assistant director of the FBI's New York field office, said the investigation was covert until Tuesday morning and that the NCAA was not aware of the investigation.
According to the complaint, signed by FBI special agent John Vourderis, Person is facing charges stemming from events "from at least in or about" September 2016 and September 2017. In all, 10 people -- including four college coaches, three people associated with professional managers and advisers, and three associated with an athletics apparel company -- were charged and arrested in the investigation.
"The picture painted by the charges brought today is not a pretty one," said Joon Kim, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Coaches at some of the nation's top programs soliciting and accepting cash bribes. Managers and financial advisers circling blue-chip prospects like coyotes, and employees of one of the world's largest sportswear companies secretly funneling cash to families of high school recruits."
Person is named in the complaint along with Rashan Michel, a Birmingham native whose custom clothing business attracted "hundreds" of clients from the NBA and NFL, according to this 2014 profile. The FBI investigation has also resulted in sworn complaints against Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans, Southern California assistant Tony Bland, Arizona assistant Emanuel Richardson and Adidas director of marketing James Gatto, as well as several others.
"The nature of the charges brought to light by the federal government are deeply disturbing," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. "We have no tolerance whatsoever for this alleged behavior. Coaches hold a unique position of trust with student-athletes and their families and these bribery allegations, if true, suggest an extraordinary and despicable breach of that trust. We learned of these charges this morning and of course will support the ongoing criminal federal investigation."
According to the complaint, Person received approximately $91,500 from a cooperating FBI witness over a 10-month period in exchange for Person's agreement to "use his official influence over student-athletes" at Auburn that Person believed would enter the NBA to retain the cooperating witness' "financial advisory and business management services" and to obtain suits from Michel.
The allegations against Person involve two unidentified student-athletes at Auburn. In discussing the allegations Tuesday, Kim said Person, in describing his influence over one of Auburn's players said, "he listens to one person; that is me." According to Kim, Person also told the cooperating witness that Auburn's players trusted and looked up to him because "as he reminded them, he coached Kobe Bryant and worked for Phil Jackson."
Person also allegedly lied to players and their families about the financial adviser he pushed them toward, claiming that adviser -- who was the FBI's cooperating witness -- handled Person's personal finances and also those of former Auburn great and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Neither of those statements were true, and the adviser, who was identified by ESPN citing U.S. Department of Justice documents as Martin Blazer, had never even met Barkley.
Person is also alleged to have told one player's mother that he never received any money from the adviser for promoting him to her. That exchange occurred five days after Person allegedly accepted an evelope with $15,000 in cash bribes from the adviser during a prearranged meeting at a Manhattan hotel on or about Dec. 12, 2016 -- which was during the team's trip to New York to take on Boston College in the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on that same day -- and was, according to the complaint, recorded by video by the cooperating witness at the direction of law enforcement.
In another meeting on Dec. 18 at the direction of law enforcement, the cooperating witness met with Person, a player's mother and stepfather at a house believed to be owned by Person in Alabama. The meeting, which was recorded by video according to the complaint, Person allegedly told the mother and stepfather that when the unidentified player was drafted to the NBA, they should invest "a large portion if not all of" his money with that adviser and that they "shouldn't work with more than one financial agent." The group also discussed the topic of payments over the ensuring four months, which would have covered the remainder of the college season, allegedly saying that the adviser would send them "a few" thousand dollars each month and $1,000 in cash that day.
Less than two weeks later, on Dec. 27, 2016, Person allegedly received a $10,000 wire transfer from the cooperating witness to his personal bank account. On Jan. 12, 2015, the complaint alleges that Person received another wire transfer of $11,500 from the cooperating witness. According to the complaint, the wire transfer funds were provided by the FBI and made using instructions previously provided by Michel.
Later that month, the complaint alleges, another meeting was arranged at a house believed to be owned by Person, this time between the cooperating witness, a different Auburn player and that player's mother. The meeting was recorded by audio and video, and according to the complaint, Person received another $10,000 payment, which was done outside the presence of the player and his mother.
The following day, another financial adviser Person attempted to steer the player to informed Person by phone that he did not want to make payments to the mother to ensure the player would choose him because such payments "were never going to be enough" and that he "won't be able to stop" if he did. On Jan. 23, Person and the mother had a phone call discussing how they should go with the primary adviser -- the cooperating witness -- and the mother expressed gratitude to Person for "putting the right people around us." Person did not disclose to the mother the payment he personally received from the cooperating witness in exchange for steering the player and mother toward him.
Of the alleged $91,500 Person received during the investigation, the complaint says Person claimed to have given $11,000 of that money to the mother of the first player and an additional $7,500 to the mother of the second player.
"While pushing these professionals, the bribed coaches showed little regard for the players' wellbeing," Kim said. "They ignored red flags, seeing only the green of the cash bribes flowing their way."
The charges were formally announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York at 11 a.m. CT today. Kim said the investigation was able to get into the "dark underbelly of college basketball" through the cooperating witness and two undercover agents posing as corrupt advisers and financial backers. The FBI also obtained several court-authorized wiretaps and made "hundreds" of consensual recordings of conversations in which the defendants' described the criminal schemes in their own words.
"For the defendants charged today, the madness of college basketball went well beyond the big dance in March," Kim said. "Month after month, the defendants exploited the hoop dreams of athletes around the country, allegedly treating them as little more than opportunities to enrich themselves through bribery and fraud schemes. Fraud, abuse and corruption of the type alleged in the charges brought today contaminates all that's good around it, and it has no place in college sports.
"The defendants' alleged conduct not only sullied the spirit of amateur athletics, but it showed contempt for the thousands of players and coaches who follow the rules and play the game the right way."
According to the complaint, Person never questioned the qualifications or track record of the financial adviser who served as the FBI's cooperating witness. A simple Google search of the adviser's name, Kim said, would have shown that the Securities and Exchange Commission brought securities fraud charges against the adviser just last year.
Blazer, a former Pittsburgh financial adviser, was accused by the SEC of siphoning $2.35 million from clients and misappropriating the funds into movie investments. Blazer, who founded Blazer Capital Management, was involved in a Ponzi-type scheme involving five of his clients, including two professional athletes, between 2010 and 2012.
Sweeney said the investigation is ongoing and additional interviews are being conducted. He added that the FBI has "a lot more" work to be done in the investigation, and he encouraged others with revelant information to contact the agency through its tip line.
"All of those charged today contributed to a pay-to-play culture that has no place in college basketball," Sweeney said. "Today's arrests should serve as a warning to others choosing to conduct business this way in the world of college athletics: We have your playbook."
UPDATE: On Wednesday afternoon, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey released a statement in response to the FBI's investigation and allegations leveled against Person.
"The allegations announced by federal authorities on Tuesday are disturbing and, if true, reveal alarming activities within the sport of basketball," Sankey said. "The depth of the problem remains to be seen but clearly there is indication of behavior that must be corrected for the health of basketball and the integrity of college athletics. The alleged activities are detrimental to the sport, are unfair to the many individuals who do it the right way and undermine the trust of the fans who support their programs. I find encouragement, however, in the federal government's willingness to utilize the powerful tools at its unique disposal to hold responsible parties accountable."
James Crepea contributed to this report.
Tom Green is the Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
Read the entire complaint against Person here:
Complaint against Chuck Person by John Talty on Scribd
AL.com will update this post.