Lawyer Gets 91-Day Suspension For Behavior During Investigation

Florida attorney Maria Elena Perez will be suspended for 91 days for ethics violations during an NCAA probe of the University of Miami athletics program. The Florida Supreme Court last week agreed with the Florida Bar’s recommended punishment, based on Perez’s improper sharing of information from witnesses she interviewed while representing former Hurricanes booster Nevin Shapiro in a bankruptcy case. Shapiro, a convicted Ponzi schemer, was found to have acted improperly with recruits, athletes, and staffers of Miami’s athletics program. That led the NCAA to strip Miami of football scholarships and put its athletic department on probation. The NCAA acknowledged it was wrong to pay Perez more than $18,000 for the information.