University of Michigan basketball scandal

The University of Michigan basketball scandal or Ed Martin scandal was a series of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules violations that resulted in a six-year investigation of the relationship between the University of Michigan, its men's basketball program, and basketball team booster Ed Martin. As a result of the investigation, the Wolverine men's basketball program was punished with sanctions. The violations principally involved payments booster Martin made to several players to launder money from an illegal gambling operation. It is one of the largest incidents involving payments to college athletes in American collegiate history. An initial investigation by the school was joined by the NCAA, Big Ten Conference, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

The case began when the investigation of an automobile accident during Mateen Cleaves's 1996 recruiting trip revealed a curious relationship between Martin and the Wolverine basketball program dating back to the 1980s. Several Michigan basketball players were implicated over the next few years and by 1999 some were called before a federal grand jury. Four eventual professional basketball players—Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock—were discovered to have borrowed a total of $616,000 from Martin. During the investigation, Webber claimed not to have had any financial relationship with Martin, but eventually confessed to taking loans from Martin. He was both fined in the legal system and briefly suspended by the National Basketball Association after performing public service.

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