PONZI SCHEMER'S IMPROPER DONATIONS PUT UNIVERSITY IN HOT WATER

Nevin Shapiro at UM sports event

Remember convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, currently serving a 20-year sentence for his $930m  fraud ? Well, whilst Shapiro was fleecing his victims, he was a major contributor to the University of Miami's athletic programme. The problem is, some of his "contributions" were improper or illegal; they were made directly to the players, and not to the university. A gambler who reportedly lost $9m betting on games, Shapiro was allegedly looking for inside information to help him place winning bets, and he has alleged that the coaches supplied him with that knowledge.

The many illegal financial benefits that he bestowed upon the university's football and basketball players, which ultimately came to the attention of the body that regulates intercollegiate athletics, and the university faces sanctions; it has already lost face, due to the unflattering media coverage.

From Federal Prison, the Ponzi schemer is looking for any opportunity to reduce his sentence, and he frankly does not care who he maligns or damages, to get there. Any nonprofit organisation that accepts donations should always check out its donors carefully. Should the donor have any major problems, he may be inclined to supply information damaging to the nonprofit, if he has any, to obtain an advantage in his criminal proceeding. In this case, he had some to deliver; if you are banking a nonprofit, you may want to obtain assurances that its compliance department checks out its donors before accepting gifts.