Nevin Shapiro's Claims Confirmed, Denied By Ex-Miami Staffer

An attorney for Nevin Shapiro has provided the NCAA with a deposition in which former Miami Hurricanes equipment manager Sean Allen confirms some of Shapiro's claims about the school, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Shapiro, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a New Orleans prison for involvement with a Ponzi scheme, is a former Miami booster who has made a slew of allegations regarding the school and has been actively trying to bring down the athletics department by going to the NCAA.

Allen's deposition backs up some of Shapiro's statements, but denies others.

In Allen's deposition, obtained by Miami New Times, Allen told the bankruptcy trustee that he has no knowledge of Shapiro giving DeQuan Jones' family $10,000 to ensure that he stuck by his commitment to UM - among the most damaging of Shapiro's claims. Allen also said he has no knowledge of Shapiro buying cars or prostitutes for players, as Shapiro alleged.

Allen confirmed in the deposition that Shapiro gave him $3,000 to take Ray Ray Armstrong, Dyron Dye and Andre Dubose to a strip club during their UM recruiting trip. Armstrong and Dye signed with Miami eventually, and DuBose opted for UF.

Allen confirmed that dozens of players took improper gifts from Shapiro, mostly in the form of parties at the club Mansion or partying with him on his yacht. That group included Devin Hester, Jon Beason and Kyle Wright, among others.

Allen also confirmed former Central quarterback Jeffrey Godfrey visited Shapiro's suite and had dinner at Benihana's, at Shapiro's expense.

Allen, who worked as Shapiro's personal aid from late 2007 to 2008, told The New Times that he spoke to the NCAA last spring but did not answer a lot of their questions. "There was truth in what Nevin told Yahoo, but it was blown way out of proportion," Allen said.

Shapiro's attorney commented via text message on Tuesday, "The NCAA has had the Sean Allen depo and their view is that Mr. Allen was not being forthcoming."

It remains to be seen just how much impact the deposition has in the final outcome of the Shapiro allegations.

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