Cal State Fullerton Bribe Suspect Enters Not Guilty Plea

The Cal State Fullerton student charged with trying to bribe one of the school’s basketball players to fix a game pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Jack Oh, 21, remained in Fullerton jail in lieu of $25,000 bail. Municipal Court Judge W. Michael Hayes set a pretrial hearing for March 5 and ordered that Oh must prove to the court that any bail money was legally obtained.

That condition is common in gambling-related cases, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Anderson said.

Oh’s father, Young, attended the arraignment, and said outside the court that he did not know whether the family could raise that much money.

Oh was charged with one felony count of offering a bribe to a participant in a sporting event. If guilty, Oh faces up to three years in state prison, Anderson said.

Authorities allege Oh approached freshman center Corey Sanders, cited by name in the criminal complaint, and offered the player $1,000 to help ensure that Pacific beat Fullerton by more than the 10-point spread in last Thursday’s game. Pacific won, 71-57.

Sanders, one of the Titans’ reserves, averages 2.5 points per game.

According to Fullerton police, Oh also offered $100 for each missed free throw and as much as $75,000 for continued cooperation. Oh allegedly intended to bet as much as $11,000 per game.

Sanders immediately reported the discussion to school officials, who alerted Fullerton police, Sgt. Dave Stanko said. Police then arranged to tape a telephone conversation between Oh and Sanders, after which detectives determined they had sufficient evidence to arrest Oh.

Sanders, who was en route to Cal State Fullerton’s game at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo tonight, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Deputy public defender Sonja Muir, appointed Wednesday to represent Oh, declined to comment.