| | Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS -- A former tutor who did more than 400 pieces
of coursework for University of Minnesota men's basketball players
was charged Friday with a single federal felony count of financial
aid fraud.
The charge was signed by Joshua R. Hochberg, the acting chief of
the fraud section at the Justice Department, and Mark G. McConnell,
an attorney with fraud section in Washington, who has been
supervising the case.
Several media, citing unnamed sources close to the
investigation, have reported that the charge is part of a plea
bargain in which Jan Gangelhoff agreed to testify against former
men's basketball coach Clem Haskins and the program's former
academic adviser, Alonzo Newby. In exchange for her testimony,
Gangelhoff would receive no jail time.
Her attorney, Jim Lord, declined comment.
Gangelhoff is the first person charged with a criminal offense
in the wake of the scandal. In the charge, she's accused of
"knowingly and willfully" committing fraud by "fraudulently
preparing and submitting academic coursework" for a basketball
player, making him eligible to enroll at the university and
enabling him to obtain a federally financed Pell Grant during the
1995-96 school year.
While the charge did not name the player, media reports on the
investigation say he is Bobby Jackson, who now plays for the
Sacramento Kings.
Gangelhoff, a former office manager of the university's academic
counseling unit, said she did the coursework for as many as 20
players from 1993 until early 1998. She had resigned in 1998 after
university officials accused her of improperly helping a player
with a paper.
She went public with her allegations in March 1999, sparking a
university investigation that led to the ouster of Haskins and
other athletics officials, as well as self-imposed sanctions by the
university and an investigation by the NCAA. The NCAA's decision on
any additional sanctions is pending.
Gangelhoff's case has been assigned to chief U.S. District Judge
Paul Magnuson in St. Paul. Her first court appearance was expected
sometime next week.
Federal investigators are considering more than a dozen felony
counts against both Haskins and Newby, WCCO-TV reported Thursday
night, quoting unnamed sources.
The Star Tribune, citing an unidentified source close to the
investigation, reported Friday that federal investigators do not
intend to bring any charges against any student-athletes involved
in the scandal.
On Monday, the university sued Haskins to recover the $1.5
million it paid to buy out his contract, saying the coach lied when
he denied giving $3,000 to Gangelhoff and that he told players to
mislead investigators after the scandal broke. Haskins' attorney,
Ron Meshbesher, has said the university's allegations are false.
WCCO-TV reported earlier that key witnesses will testify before
a federal grand jury in Minneapolis next week, including Gangelhoff
and her sister, Jeanne Payer, who was also a tutor at the
university, and Jackson.
| |
ALSO SEE
Report: Ex-Minnesota tutor will plead guilty to misappropriating funds
|
