Who is John Paul Funes, and how did his scandal lead to LSU football vacating 37 wins?

LSU's football team has vacated all 37 of its wins from the 2012-2015 season after an NCAA investigation found that Vidal Alexander, an offensive lineman who played during those years, was ineligible because his father had received $180,150 in funds embezzled by John Paul Funes. The NCAA said Funes offered to employ Alexander’s mother at an Our Lady of the Lake hospital and a related nonprofit foundation, which he led. Though Alexander’s father received recurring payments for almost five years, the NCAA said, he worked no more than five events. Funes, who headed the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation, was a prominent Baton Rouge philanthropist and LSU booster. But he pleaded guilty in 2019 to embezzling nearly $800,000 from the nonprofit fundraising arm of the foundation, which is the charitable arm of the Our Lady of the Lake hospital system. John Paul Funes, the former chief fundraiser for Our Lady of the Lake hospitals, leaves U.S. District Court after being sentenced to 33 months in prison and repay $796,000 in restitution Thursday Oct. 24, 2019, in Baton Rouge. His title was president and CEO of the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation. He pleaded guilty in June 2019 to wire fraud and money laundering. STAFF PHOTO BY BILL FEIG The NCAA's recent report says that $180,150 of that money went Alexander's father, an impermissible benefit that made his son ineligible as a player. Prosecutors said Funes also sent checks totaling $107,000 to an unnamed Florida parent and daughter — sources told The Advocate at the time they were the mother and sister of former LSU quarterback Rohan Davey. Davey was no longer at LSU at the time. The pair later sent Funes about $63,000. Funes also stole gift cards meant for cancer patients, flew family and friends to LSU and New Orleans Saints football games on flights for "outbound patient transports" and sent money to people who did little or no work for the foundation, according to his guilty plea. His fraudulent activities occurred over a seven-year period, beginning in 2012. Federal prosecutors said Funes falsified dozens of payment vouchers and created fictitious records to disguise the thefts. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles sentenced Funes in October 2019 to 33 months in prison. Funes paid more than $796,000 in court-ordered restitution. Funes was released to home confinement in February 2021 under the authorization of the CARES Act due to COVID-19 protocols, according to his attorney at the time. Email James Wilkins at twilkins@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter, @terelljwilkins.