New York CNN —ESPN returned dozens of Emmy statues and “disciplined” employees after an investigation disclosed Thursday found that the sports network had submitted fake names to the awards organization in a bid to secure trophies for on-air personalities who had been ineligible to receive them.
The apparent fraud stretched back to 1997, ESPN said in a statement, acknowledging that members of its team “were clearly wrong” for concocting the scheme.
“Some members of our team were clearly wrong in submitting certain names that may go back to 1997 in Emmy categories where they were not eligible for recognition or statuettes,” an ESPN spokesperson said in a statement.
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which administers the Emmys, said it discovered the fraud, prompting an investigation.
NATAS said in a statement to CNN that it had identified several “fictitious credits” submitted by ESPN to multiple sports Emmys categories.
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