The nearly 1,500 people President Joe Biden granted clemency to this week included one of the most notorious boosters in college sports history —Miami’s Nevin Shapiro.
Shapiro was one of 1,499 people convicted of non-violent crimes whose sentences were commuted Thursday by Biden (another 39 were pardoned). In 2011, Shapiro was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of securities fraud and another count of money laundering — charges that stemmed from a $930 million Ponzi scheme.
Shapiro became infamous later that year when he told Yahoo Sports that he broke numerous NCAA rules by providing impermissible benefits to Hurricanes players. They included cash, trips on a yacht and visits to strip clubs, and his confession became a massive scandal. The NCAA determined Miami lacked institutional control, and the Hurricanes’ sanctions included scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions and probation plus a self-imposed ban that kept Miami out of bowls and the 2012 ACC championship.
The NCAA’s investigation later came under scrutiny because enforcement staff worked with one of Shapiro’s attorneys and the booster’s bankruptcy proceedings to get information improperly.
Shapiro was moved from prison to home confinement during the COVID pandemic. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not erase a conviction; it merely reduces or ends the sentence.
(Photo: Chris Bernacchi / Getty Images)
