Former Los Angeles County appraiser Scott Schenter may become a household name very soon. Schenter, who is currently at the center of a corruption scandal and concurrent investigation of the LA County offices, has claimed that he provided former USC Trojans running back Joe McKnight and basketball player Davon Jefferson with cash and other perks during their time on campus.
Schenter claims he provided McKnight with a car and airline ticket and Jefferson with $3,700 in cash, according to emails which were obtained by a Los Angeles-based newspaper under the California Public Records Act.
USC officials claim they were aware of the inducements provided to McKnight and Jefferson and notified the NCAA immediately upon their knowledge, which is all the are required to do under the organization’s bylaws and usual protocols. This doesn’t mean, however, that USC will be completely out of the woods here.
Given this is an open investigation having nothing to do with the Reggie Bush inducements that earned USC their previous probation, a probation that just ended with the beginning of this season, the Trojans could be looking at a new headache.
Much of how this situation pans out will be dependent upon the case pending against Schenter for giving improper tax breaks to wealthy Los Angeles citizens, which is in the investigation phase and has yet to go to trial.
This isn’t the first time that Schenter has been tied up with USC in murky waters. His relationship to Joe McKnight was originally questioned in 2009 when the Trojan running back was seen driving around campus in a Land Rover registered to the LA County employee.
This situation is still fresh enough that it’s difficult to know just what danger it poses to a USC program that is freshly off of probation, but regardless, it will definitely pick up steam and be at the forefront of the news in the coming weeks.
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Kris Hughes is the College Football Network Manager for Rant Sports and a member of the Football Writers Association of America.
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Kris is also the host of Rant Sports Radio on the Blog Talk Radio Network Wednesday evenings at 8 Central Time.
