NCAA to Investigate Claims That Miami Hurricanes Players Took Cash From Convicted Ponzi Schemer

A signed helmet that was once on display at Shapiro's $6 million Miami Beach mansion.

​Last year, New Times chronicled the rise and fall of flashy Miami Beach Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro.  The man who had donated more than $150,000 to the University of Miami football program now sits in jail on a 20-year sentence. He  has been threatening since April 2010 to pen a tell-all book about the Hurricanes. Now the NCAA is reportedly going to investigate the program for Shapiro's claims that he paid players.

InsideTheU.com reports that since Shapiro has been whining long enough and loud enough about the accusation, the NCAA has decided it better go ahead and check out the claims. However, the University doesn't seem too concerned:

Sources told InsideTheU that they believe there will not be any documentation linking Shapiro to any former players. The NCAA has a four-year statue of limitations regarding violations, which means if UM is found of any wrongdoing, this ruling could be a factor.

"I'm definitely confident UM will be okay," a source said. "It will raise a lot of eyebrows, but at the end of the day, he's sitting behind bars and he owes $900 million."

Shapiro also seems to be motivated to tarnish the program because he feels personally hurt by former players.

"Once the players became pros, they turned their back on me," he told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald last year. "It made me feel like a used friend."

Shapiro admitted he was motivated to write the book because of personal "heartbreak and disappointment."

As a convicted Ponzi schemer, Shapiro definitely seems like the kind of guy who would make up charges to get attention and bolster sales of his planned book. He also seems like the kind of guy who could have been secretly shuffling cash toward players.

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