Penn Basketball: Ex-Coach Jerome Allen Accused Of Taking Bribe To Recruit Player

Former Penn basketball coach Jerome Allen, who is currently an assistant for the Boston Celtics, is under fire after reports surfaced that he allegedly took a bribe from a Miami businessman. The bribe was in order to recruit the man’s son to Allen’s basketball team.
In exchange for the player, Morris Esformes, who is the son of Phillip Esformes, Allen was paid nearly $75,000.
From Bloomberg:

“The courtship began on May 31, 2013, when Esformes paid for the coach to fly from Philadelphia to Miami. Esformes provided a limousine to take him to the Fontainebleau Hotel. The businessman rented the basketball court at the JW Marriott Marquis so that the coach could watch his son play the next day. The coach then visited Esformes the following day before flying back to Philadelphia. The trip cost $2,009, according to the indictment.
More than a year later, on July 3, 2014, Esformes wired $15,000 to the coach, sending it from an account in the name of a nursing home administrator. On Oct. 6, 2014, he wired another $20,000, followed by $18,000 on Dec. 1, 2014, according to prosecutors.
In March 2015, Esformes, his son and the coach flew on a private jet from Philadelphia to Miami, at a cost of $19,550. In all, Esformes spent $74,558 for the coach’s benefit, prosecutors said.”

Allen was ultimately fired before Esformes enrolled. He held a 65-104 overall record while coaching the Quakers. Allen’s firing came after the 2015 college basketball season, before he landed his current role with the Celtics.

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