College Football

Suspension recommended for lawyer in Miami athletics probe

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:04 a.m. ET

foxsports

MIAMI (AP) A lawyer who assisted the NCAA in its investigation of University of Miami athletics is facing a 91-day suspension from practicing law.

Documents show that's what the Florida Bar recommended to the Florida Supreme Court in the case of attorney Maria Elena Perez, who is accused of violating legal ethics by sharing information she got from witnesses she interviewed while representing former Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro in a bankruptcy case.

Shapiro is a convicted Ponzi scheme operator whose improper actions with recruits, athletes and staffers prompted the NCAA to strip Miami of football scholarships and put its athletics department on probation.

The NCAA has acknowledged it was wrong to align with Perez and pay her more than $18,000 to get information from the witnesses she was interviewing on Shapiro's behalf.