James Gatto, Christian Dawkins, Merl Code Guilty on All Counts in CBB Trial

James Gatto, Christian Dawkins and Merl Code were all found guilty on each of their counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

The three defendants were part of the college basketball corruption trial, with Gatto and Code previously working for Adidas and Dawkins working as a sports agent.

They were all accused of providing top recruits with impermissible benefits in order to get them to go to Adidas-sponsored programs. 

While the initial claim was that top prospect Brian Bowen was paid $100,000 to go to Louisville, the trial showed a wide range of corruption across college basketball. The player's father, Brian Bowen Sr., testified that he was also offered money and benefits from Arizona, Oklahoma State, Texas, Creighton and Oregon, per Adam Zagoria of the New York Times.

Additionally, the defendants "conspired to hide such actions from the universities involved," which defrauded the schools involved, according to Dan Greene of Sports Illustrated.

This helped transform breaking NCAA rules into a federal court case.

Per Norlander, Gatto, Dawkins and Code will each be out of jail on bond until the March 5 sentencing.

According to the Courier-Journal, the wire fraud and conspiracy convictions each hold a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail.