Prosecutor Says Christian Dawkins Lied on Stand During NCAA Corruption Trial

Federal prosecutor Noah Solowiejczyk said Friday that Christian Dawkins lied on the witness stand during his college basketball corruption trial. 

According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com), Solowiejczyk disputes Dawkins' statement that he did not bribe college coaches in an attempt to later sign NBA prospects as clients.

Dawkins, who was already sentenced to six months in jail in a separate fraud trial, pleaded not guilty to bribery.

During the prosecution's closing arguments Friday, Solowiejczyk stressed for jurors to consider evidence that showed Dawkins handing envelopes of cash to Creighton assistant coaches and assistants from schools in Las Vegas as part of a 2017 sting operation.

Dawkins said the coaches later returned the money to him.

The 26-year-old Dawkins is described as a middleman who later started his own agency called LOYD Management, and although he admitted to paying athletes, he remains steadfast in his assertion that he did not give money to coaches.

Per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, Dawkins said he disliked the idea of bribing coaches and even staged a bribe to Creighton assistant Preston Murphy by telling Jeff DeAngelo, who was an undercover FBI agent pretending to be a real-estate tycoon investing in LOYD, that he needed $6,000 to secure the rights to a player named Marcus Phillips.

Dawkins said he gave the money to Murphy, who then gave it back since Marcus Phillips is fictional. Bank records show that Dawkins put the money back in LOYD's account in an attempt to use it to bribe players instead.

The closing arguments for the defense in Dawkins' bribery trail will be held Monday in New York City.