MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Coaches and college boosters who buy or sell student athletes should know now they can face federal prosecution, the U.S. attorney whose office got a conviction in an Alabama recruiting scandal said Thursday.
"When recruiting violations rise to the level that they constitute criminal acts, they should be investigated and prosecuted," said U.S. Attorney Terrell Harris.
Jurors on Wednesday convicted Logan Young, a Memphis millionaire and former Alabama booster, of paying $150,000 to former high school coach Lynn Lang to get defensive lineman Albert Means to sign with Alabama in 2000.
"Anyone who thinks about engaging in that practice ought to think twice about doing it," Harris said.
The three charges Young, 64, was convicted on carry a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison and heavy fines but he is likely to get a much lesser punishment at a sentencing hearing set for May 5.
Defense lawyer James Neal said the conviction will be appealed.
Young refused to talk about the conviction as he left the federal courthouse after the jury finished its work Thursday, deciding he should pay $96,100 to the government for structuring bank withdrawals to hide a crime.
"I'm upset, but there's a long way to go," Young said.
Harris said he knew of no such previous conviction of a college booster.
Generally, boosters caught engaging in such activities lose their affiliations with the schools they support, and the colleges often face NCAA sanctions.
Means' recruitment became part of an NCAA investigation that led to sanctions against Alabama in 2002, costing the Crimson Tide scholarships and bowl opportunities.
"It's wrong to buy and sell 18-year-old student athletes. It's wrong to bribe high school football coaches," Harris said.
Lang has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in Means recruitment and is awaiting sentencing.
He testified at Young's trial saying the Memphis businessman gave him a series of cash payments below the $10,000 threshold for IRS reporting to get Means to sign with the Crimson Tide.
Young was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, bribing a public official and money laundering.
Lang said he got small amounts of money from two colleges, Georgia and Kentucky, while shopping Means around, and offers of cash or jobs from Arkansas, Mississippi, Michigan State and Tennessee.
He said he was offered a free law school education for his wife at Memphis.
Former coaches Rip Scherer of Memphis and Jim Donnan of Georgia and former Alabama assistant Ivy Williams testified for the defense that Lang was lying.
