Nevin Shapiro, a former booster for the University of Miami, has had his prison sentence for orchestrating a $930 million Ponzi scheme commuted by President Joe Biden. This decision was part of a larger announcement from the White House, which included 1,499 other commutations. Shapiro, who was sentenced in 2011 to a 20-year imprisonment and ordered to pay back nearly $83 million to his defrauded investors, is expected to be officially released on December 22. Since 2020, he has been under home confinement.
According to the Department of Justice, this commutation merely reduces his time in prison and does not signify any forgiveness regarding his original crime. It serves to lessen his sentence without excusing the underlying actions that led to his conviction.
The events surrounding Shapiro are considered one of the most controversial episodes in college sports. The lengthy investigation involving the University of Miami lasted over 30 months, starting when Shapiro approached the NCAA boasting about his connections with the university’s athletes and coaches, and attempting to target those he felt had wronged him amid his legal difficulties.
During the investigation, some misconduct was displayed by the NCAA itself. Since the NCAA’s enforcement team lacks subpoena authority, it utilized information obtained by an attorney through depositions that were covertly associated with Shapiro’s bankruptcy case. This questionable information led to various allegations being dropped against Miami, and the attorney involved faced sanctions from the Florida Bar.
Interestingly, one investigator linked to the NCAA’s examination of Miami athletics even penned a letter supporting Shapiro just days before his sentencing. Shapiro had previously claimed to Yahoo Sports in 2011 that he had expended “millions” on providing additional benefits to Miami players. The NCAA’s notice of allegations directed at Miami in 2013 pointed out that Shapiro had given approximately $170,000 in unauthorized benefits to Hurricanes players, recruits, coaches, and affiliates between 2002 and 2010.
As a consequence of these infractions, Miami took several self-imposed penalties, which included rejecting invitations to two bowl games and one Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. The university also faced scholarship reductions in both football and men’s basketball due to the scandal. In 2016, Miami’s three years on probation, as mandated by the NCAA, concluded.