College basketball season ends amid fraud allegations

The men's basketball program at Westchester Community College has been suspended for the season following allegations of grade fraud. The allegations are now reportedly being probed by the New York

News 12 Staff

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Nov 2, 2014, 1:38 AM

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Updated 3,598 days ago

The men's basketball program at Westchester Community College has been suspended for the season following allegations of grade fraud.

The allegations are now reportedly being probed by the New York State Office of the Inspector General, along with the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The probe is looking into whether the transcripts of a number of former and current star players were altered at the college's Valhalla campus.

The team's coach is also reportedly being investigated as the person responsible for drastically increasing the grades of the players in question, and allegedly adding credits for classes never taken.

On Oct. 16, the school fired its assistant coach when he admitted that he had approved a phony transcript for a former star player and forged a signature on an eligibility form.

Questions about the grades were allegedly first raised by a number of Division I basketball coaches recruiting WCC's players.

WCC, a two-year college, has sent a number of its players to some of the country's elite D-I basketball programs in the past.

Schools including St. John's University, Florida A&M University and Quinnipiac University have rescinded their scholarship offers to a handful of WCC recruits after deeming their transcripts as phony.

WCC is reportedly actively cooperating with the ongoing investigation, and is reviewing the academic eligibility of a number of its student athletes going back three to five years.

A spokesperson would not say what the punishment would be if the allegations are proven true.