2 Broward high school basketball coaches arrested for alleged illegal gym rentals

A pair of Broward high school basketball coaches were arrested for allegedly renting out gyms for tournaments and pocketing the money, authorities said.

Henry McNabb, 42, and Brenton Hankerson, 43, are facing charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, arrest affidavits showed.

McNabb is the boys’ basketball coach at Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach while Hankerson is the girls’ basketball coach at Coral Springs High School.

According to the affidavits, Broward Schools Police launched an investigation in June after receiving a report of a possible fraudulent rentals of school gyms.

Investigators said a person had booked Blanche Ely’s gym for a May 31 graduation ceremony but when he showed up to set up he found a basketball tournament in progress, the affidavits said.

It was quickly discovered that McNabb had rented out Blanche Ely’s gym multiple times for tournaments, and had also rented out the gym at Hollywood Hills High School, the affidavits said.

Hankerson had also rented out Coral Springs High’s gym for multiple tournaments, authorities said.

The events weren’t approved or paid for through the district’s system for gym rentals, and the coaches were directly paid thousands of dollars through Zelle by outside basketball associations to host the tournaments, the affidavits said.

Hankerson’s total profit was $5,950.00 while McNabb’s was was $5,200.00, the affidavits said.

The total potential revenue losses to the district from Coral Springs High for the tournaments amounted to $11,805.00, while the total potential revenue losses to the district from Blanche Ely and Hollywood Hills amounted to $12,920.00, the affidavits said.

The affidavits also said the rentals exposed the district to “severe liability and safety concerns.”

Both coaches were arrested and booked into jail, and could be out of a job, Broward County Public Schools officials said in a statement.

“Both employees in question were arrested by Broward Schools Police as part of an investigation into the improper use of district facilities for personal gain,” the statement read. “The Superintendent maintains a zero-tolerance stance on public corruption, and both employees will be subject to termination.”