Maria Elena Perez, the Miami-based attorney who represents former Hurricane booster Nevin Shapiro, said said she did not work in collusion with NCAA investigators, at the center of the investigation into the University of Miami program which includes Missouri men’s basketball coach Frank Haith.
Perez told Sun-Sentinel.com, “I think this is completely insane. I think there’s absolutely nothing here to investigate, and like I told everyone, everything I did was above board.”
Perez said she was paid for her services by the NCAA, but claimed they shared a common desire to find out where money went in a bankruptcy case. The NCAA wanted to find out if it went to student-athletes. On Wednesday, NCAA President Mark Emmert said there were major issues with actions taken by its enforcement staff and Shapiro’s attorney.
Perez calls herself the NCAA’s “patsy,” and finds the NCAA’s actions “very suspicious.”
“And I’m starting to believe they want to intentionally botch this investigation for reasons I can only imagine are monetary.”
