Report: Celtics Assistant Coach Jerome Allen Allegedly Took Bribes While Head Coach at Penn
In an indictment filed Thursday against Miami businessman Philip Esformes, a basketball coach at a Philadelphia college is mentioned for allegedly taking money and gifts from Esformes so his son Morris would be able to attend the school, according to Michael Smith, David Voreacos and Eben Novy-Williams of Bloomberg.
The trio reports that the coach described is Celtics assistant Jerome Allen, who was the head coach at Penn from 2009-2015. Allen and the school are not mentioned by name in the indictment. Since Penn and other Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships, the report claims that Allen was asked to label Morris Esformes as a "recruited basketball player" to increase his chance of admission.
On May 31, 2013, Philip Esformes allegedly paid $2,009 to fly Allen from Philadelphia to Miami to see Morris Esformes play. After that, Philip Esformes allegedly wired Allen $53,000 over the course of three payments that happened on July 3, 2014, Oct. 6, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2014. Philip Esformes then allegedly spent $19,550 on a flight in a private jet from Philadelphia to Miami for himself, his son and Allen.
In total, Philip Esformes allegedly spent more than $74,000 trying to get Allen to help get Morris Esformes into Penn. Morris Esformes would have enrolled at Penn in 2015, after Allen was fired following a 9-19 season. Morris Esformes was never listed on Penn's basketball roster, but someone with that name on social media claims he attends Penn.
Allen initially joined Penn's staff as a volunteer assistant in August 2009, but was promoted to interim head coach in December. During his time as the head coach, the Quakers went 65-104, but they were just 26-61 over his last three seasons.
The Celtics hired him in July 2015.
