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White Collar Crimes

In: Business and Management

Submitted By madmoney23
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Running head: White Collar Crimes in Basketball

White Collar Crimes in Basketball

By

Willis Blake

Jamie Orejan

Saint Leo University

MBA 510
9-26-08

One of the largest NCAA money fraud schemes in NCAA basketball history occurred in Atlanta, GA on December 2005. A report filed with a federal court in Texas regarding the investment scam indicates that nearly $6 million in assets were connected to Horizon Establishment. In December, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency action in federal district court against Travis Correll & CO Inc. Most of the NCAA violators were coaches, players, and sports agents. These three SEC basketball colleagues were my friends. I worked side by side with Travis Correll in many of the Division II SEC Basketball games across the Southeast Region. The Southern Conference fired Travis Corell in the shakeup stemming from allegations of a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme. John Guthrie, the SEC Supervisor of Basketball Officials for more than two decades, was fired for unspecified reasons the day Correll resigned. The NCAA also released referee Jason McNeil that same afternoon. Correll’s firing in December stemmed from the Securities and Exchange Commission filling suit in Texas alleging he and others sold interests in purported foreign and international bank deposit programs promising risk-free returns of 4 percent to 12 percent. Travis Correll got this idea from Charles Ponzi who duped thousands of New England residents into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s. Ponzi told investors that he could provide a 40% return in just 90 days compared with 5% for bank savings accounts. Decades later, the Ponzi scheme continues to work on the “rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul” principle. Money from new investors was used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses. The SEC Basketball’s Ponzi scheme caused shockwaves across the basketball referee ranks in Georgia, Alabama, Florida Tennessee and North Carolina. Travis Correll and Jason McNeil were among the 65 to 70 elite basketball referees that called SEC basketball games each night. John Guthrie supervised the SEC, A-SUN, Peach belt, SSAC and the Panhandle Conferences. John Guthrie helped hundreds of referees get their start in the NBA, D-League and WNBA. John Guthrie was a pioneer in basketball but more he was a great people person. Since his firing the leagues have been split up between several different coordinators across the country. The firing of my mentor, John Guthrie, who gave me my start in College Basketball Officiating, destroyed his legacy forever. The basketball community fell into turmoil, as long time friends became enemies. Colleagues I had known all my life would not ride together to the games anymore because no one knew how far the money corruption went through the officiating ranks. Referees were no longer arriving to the game sites an hour before the games or staying another hour to view game tapes. No referees wanted their careers associated with Travis, Jason nor John Guthrie’s name. Travis E. Correll, 31 who was a referee in the Southern Conference, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for the bogus investment scheme that conned $29 million from private investors and referees. Travis was ordered to pay $29 million in restitution during his sentencing for wire fraud, according to the U. S. Attorney’s Office. John Guthrie and Jason McNeil were fired from their positions in the Conferences. Many people outside the referee community will never know Travis Corell, Jason McNeil or John Guthrie’s stories of money, corruption, greed and lies to obtain power. The powerful NCAA without a doubt will never bring the truth forward to hurt the integrity of College Basketball.

USA Today ( 2005 Associated Press ) Notes: SEC Says Basketball Ref resigns amid suit by other SEC Officials. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/2005-12-14-notes_x.htm Shawn Martin ( 2006 American Press ) Nearly $6 Million in assets identified article
http://www.haysconsulting.net/correllhorizon/01-25-06%20Amer%20Press%20Sidebar.pdf

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