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Thursday, September 02, 1999 By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Duquesne University has reinstated the two basketball players who were suspended from the team earlier this summer because of their involvement in a check and credit card scam.
Simon Ogunlesi and Jamal Hunter were reinstated after being suspended in June from the university and team pending the outcome of the case. Ogunlesi and Hunter's court cases have not yet been tried.
A third player, Devone Stephenson who was also involved in the scam, was never suspended.
Ogulesi, Hunter and Robert Unoarumhi, a Philadelphia resident not enrolled at Duquesne, were tabbed as "ringleaders" in the scheme by financial fraud investigators in June. The scheme, known as "split deposit scam," in which bogus checks are used to inflate an account balance and then money is withdrawn quickly, defrauded PNC Bank of nearly $36,000.
The Rev. Sean Hogan, executive vice President of student life at Duquesne, reinstated Ogunlesi and Hunter on Monday, "pending the resolution of their legal matters," Duquesne Athletic Director Brian Colleary said.
"The kids know they're getting a second chance," Colleary said. "They know this is their last chance to be successful in our society. Everybody makes mistakes. We felt it was prudent to give them a second chance."
Ogunlesi and Hunter are transfers who have yet to play for Duquesne. Stephenson, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, was a reserve last year and averaged 4.3 points per game. Ogunlesi, a 6-10 junior center who transferred from Villanova, and Hunter, a 6-5 junior guard who transferred from Loyola of Maryland, are projected to be contributors this season as the Dukes attempt to rebound from a 5-23 season last year.
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