Houston foundation hit by Ponzi scheme
Associated Press
DALLAS — A foundation that endows athletic scholarships at the University of Houston may have lost more than 40 percent of its listed assets because of investments in an alleged Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a financial adviser for college basketball coaches who committed suicide last summer.
The losses incurred by the Houston Athletics Foundation could have financial implications for the university, which has traditionally struggled to raise funds for its sports programs. The investments have also raised ethical issues for the group’s board, many of whom had long-standing ties to the scheme’s mastermind, David Salinas.
More than $2.2 million of the nearly $5.1 million in assets listed by the foundation in its most recent filing with the Internal Revenue Service were invested in bonds that the Securities and Exchange Commission claims never existed. The foundation’s losses are among the most notable in a scheme that allegedly defrauded more than 100 investors of $39 million, including millions of dollars from several high-profile college coaches.
Dilemma X 
December 20, 2011
Athletics