Former
Penn basketball coach Jerome Allen testified during a federal criminal trial on Friday that he accepted roughly $300,000 in bribes from a Florida businessman to help get the man's son into the Ivy League school using a basketball priority slot.
Allen, now an assistant coach with the
Boston Celtics, pleaded guilty in October to accepting an $18,000 bribe from the man in 2014.
The $300,000 total wasn't disclosed until Allen testified during the $450 million Medicare and Medicaid fraud case involving Philip Esformes, a Miami nursing home mogul.
According to Allen's testimony, which was reported on by Law360.com, Allen also testified that former Penn assistant Ira Bowman, who is currently on Auburn's coaching staff, had knowledge of the scheme and became involved after Allen was forced to resign as the Quakers' coach in March 2015.
Allen told the jury he set up a separate bank account for Esformes to wire him money and gave Bowman a debit card to access the funds.
Allen testified that he trained Esformes' son, Morris, in basketball during several trips to Miami, in which Esformes paid for Allen to stay in beachfront hotels, ride in limousines and attend
Miami Heat games.
After the workouts, Esformes handed him plastic bags filled with about $10,000 in cash, Allen told the jury, according to Law360.com. Esformes told Allen his son's dream was to attend Penn and play basketball for the Quakers. If Allen made that happen, Esformes told him, they would be "family for life."
"The one thing I take seriously is when I extend myself to someone, and if they tell me we're family for life, I take it seriously," Allen told the jury. "I took it to mean he was going to make sure I was going to be taken care of, as well."
Allen said he didn't believe Morris Esformes was good enough to play basketball at Penn.