Former USD Assistant Basketball Coach And Players Charged In Game-Fixing-Marijuana-Bribery Mess

In San Diego today, federal prosecutors released the details of an indictment that named 10 people — three of whom formerly coached or played for the University of San Diego men's basketball program — with connection to a college basketball bribery ring. Thaddeus Brown, an assistant coach for the Toreros during the 2006-07 season, along with former players Brandon Johnson and Brandon Dowdy, were tabbed in "Operation Hook Shot."

The investigation reportedly began as a probe into a marijuana distribution operation, and now "accuses the group of conspiracy to commit sports bribery, running an illegal sports bookmaking operation and distributing marijuana."

According the the AP, Johnson, the school's all-time leading scorer, accepted bribes as a player in 2010:

The indictment alleges that Johnson took a bribe to influence the result of a game in February 2010 and solicited someone else in January 2011 to affect the outcome of USD basketball games.

The indictment alleges that this February, Brown and Dowdy solicited someone to affect the outcome of a game at the University of California, Riverside.

Syracuse was hit with point-shaving accusations earlier this year, but the charges had no real grounds. The last major case involving college basketball was Northwestern's 1998 scandal, but some time has passed since a list like this required an update. USD has yet to release a statement, but they're said to be cooperating fully with the investigators.

"This is not an indictment on an outstanding academic institution," FBI agent Keith Slotter said. "This is not an indictment against USD."

In the two seasons allegedly affected — 2009 and 2010 — the Toreros were 11-21 and 6-24. They made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2008. 3 ex-USD figures in sports bribery indictment [AP] Ex-USD Basketball Star Linked To Alleged Sports-Bribery Ring [10News.com]