http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaa...tBD?ocid=ientp
Former Adidas executive James Gatto was sentenced to nine months in prison Tuesday for his role in college basketball’s federal fraud scandal.
Co-defendants Merl Code, an Adidas consultant, and basketball middleman Christian Dawkins, each received six months.
All three were found guilty on conspiracy and fraud charges in October after a three-week jury trial. The sentences were handed down by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the Southern District of New York.
Gatto, 48, received a longer sentence due to additional convictions from his role as the boss of what prosecutors called an orchestrated effort to defraud college basketball teams.
All three were part of a plan to provide cash and other gifts to the families of top NBA prospects in order to either steer them to Adidas-sponsored schools or, once they turned professional, preferred agents and financial planners.
Those actions violate NCAA rules.
