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Pump brothers’ attorney releases statement

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The Beverly Hills attorney for Southland college basketball power brokers David and Dana Pump on Friday released a three-paragraph statement that reasserts what a Pump-connected attorney told The Times this week about the twin brothers’ connection to a University of Kansas men’s basketball ticket scandal.

Attorney Michael A. Miller said in a letter e-mailed to The Times that the brothers ‘have always conducted [their] business operations in an ethical, legal and professional manner.’

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The story, first reported by Yahoo! Sports, leans on the allegations of a Kansas land developer, who is facing prison time for his part in a bank fraud. The developer, David Freeman, told Yahoo! that the Pumps ordered Kansas ticket officials to sell them several tickets to high-profile games, including NCAA tournament action, that the brothers re-sold, or scalped, for massive profits.

Five members of the Kansas ticket office have since resigned, and an independent investigation has been performed.

The Pumps, according to Miller’s letter, only learned about the Kansas ticket problems in the Yahoo! report and say they will cooperate with any university, NCAA or law enforcement investigation of the matter.

The Pumps also direct several elite basketball club teams in the Southland and nationally, and they are involved in a headhunting business that helps schools fill coaching vacancies. They are close friends with UCLA Coach Ben Howland, who discussed his ties with the brothers in a Times story this week.

The NCAA declines to discuss its involvement in ongoing investigations.

-- Lance Pugmire

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