Gatto, Code and Dawkins Found Guilty on All Counts in College Basketball Corruption Trial
A jury determined that Adidas executive Jim Gatto, former Adidas consultant Merl Code and would-be agent Christian Dawkins were each guilty on all counts of committing wire fraud, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Wednesday.
Gatto was found guilty on three counts; Dawkins and Code were found guilty on each of theirs. All three men will be sentenced on March 5, 2019, and they will remain out on bond until then.
Dawkins's lawyer announced that he plans on appealing, however, a timeline is undetermined.
Adidas released a statement Wednesday afternoon following the verdict.
"We cooperated fully with the authorities during the course of the investigation and respect the jury's verdict," Adidas said. "We look forward to continuing to work with the NCAA and other stakeholders in a collaborative and constructive manner to improve the environment around college basketball. We have strengthened our internal processes and controls and remain committed to ethical and fair business practices."
The prosecution's case in the trial centered around the argument that by conspiring to pay basketball recruits (which would render the players ineligible under NCAA rules), the trio of men defrauded universities, whose athletic scholarships were thus awarded under false pretenses.
In September 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation charged several college coaches for the connection with a corruption scheme, asserting that they and others lied and used their stature to influence high schools recruits to sign with schools.
The three "victim schools" implicated Wednesday included Louisville, Kansas, and NC State. Defense attorneys representing conceded that their clients each violated NCAA rules by paying families of the following players: Brian Bowen (Louisville), Billy Preston (Kansas) and Dennis Smith Jr. (NC State).
The defendants admitted to violating NCAA rules because they wanted the players to attend Adidas-sponsored schools, however each denied having committed federal crimes.
Miami (FL) was completely redacted from the indictment after both sides reached an agreement, despite its initial inclusion.
