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Lawyers: Ex-NBA star Chuck Person was broke in NCAA scandal

Lawyers for former Auburn University assistant basketball coach Chuck Person say the 13-year NBA veteran was broke and financially desperate when he joined a bribery conspiracy that cheated young athletes.
Credit: Matt Slocum/AP Photo
In this March 21, 2013, file photo taken with a fisheye lens, the NCAA logo is displayed at mid-court before Albany's practice for a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for former Auburn University assistant basketball coach Chuck Person say the 13-year NBA veteran was broke and financially desperate when he joined a bribery conspiracy that cheated young athletes.

They asked a judge in papers filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to spare him from prison in the scandal that touched some of the biggest schools in college basketball.

Prosecutors say Person accepted $91,500 in bribes to steer top players to a financial adviser who hoped to continue representing them when they turned professional.

Person is scheduled to be sentenced next Tuesday. Sentencing guidelines call for him to serve about two years in prison though three other coaches who pleaded guilty to the same charge have received leniency.

Person accepted more money in bribes than the other coaches.

Drafted fourth overall by Indiana in the 1986 NBA Draft, Person played six seasons in Indiana.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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