Aaron Davidson (born 1970/1971) is an American lawyer, businessman, and convicted fraudster. Davidson is the former chairman of the board of governors of the North American Soccer League, and former president of

Traffic Sports USA Traffic Sports USA, based in Miami, is a soccer event management company in the North American, Central American and Caribbean region. Operation A division of Traffic Group, Traffic Sports USA has been responsible for organizing and/or commercia ...

. The Brazilian José Hawilla, owner and founder of Traffic Group, appointed Davidson to be the head of his company's North American headquarters in 2003. His job was to pay millions of dollars in bribes to decision makers, following their

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

n operating model, who then gave to Traffic Group marketing rights to sport events. For similar reasons,

Enrique Sanz de Santamaría Enrique Sanz de Santamaría (born 1974) is a Colombian-American sports executive. He was appointed as General Secretary of CONCACAF in July 2012. Education Sanz de Santamaría has a B.S. degree in Marketing and Advertising from the Univers ...

, did the same, thus after his unveiling Davidson could not avoid his revelation on May 6, 2015. Davidson was one of 14 suspects indicted and detained in the

2015 FIFA corruption case In 2015, United States federal prosecutors disclosed cases of corruption by officials and associates connected with the Fédération internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the governing body of association football, futsal and beach s ...

. He was banned by the

FIFA Ethics Committee The FIFA Ethics Committee is one of FIFA's three judicial bodies. It is organized in two chambers, the ''Investigatory Chamber'' and the ''Adjudicatory Chamber''. Its duties are regulated by several official documents, most importantly the ''FIFA ...

. In May 2015, Davidson pleaded not guilty in

Brooklyn Federal Court The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (in case citations, E.D.N.Y.) is the federal district court whose territorial jurisdiction spans five counties in New York State: the four Long Island counties of Nassau, ...

and was released on $5 million bond. Subsequently, in October 2016, Davidson pleaded guilty and forfeited $507,900 with sentencing set for October 3, 2019. In September 2018, FIFA’s ethics committee imposed life ban on Davidson for bribery and corruption and a $1.03 million fine.

Early life

Both of his parents are first generation immigrants, and their parents are of eastern European Jewish ancestry. He describes himself as a "Tex-Mex-Costa Rican Jew". Davidson was educated at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

and the

Dedman School of Law SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the campus of its parent institution, Southern Metho ...

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pr ...

Career

Davidson is a licensed

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

in Texas and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His career has been entirely in the legal and commercial aspects of

sports management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

. Davidson worked at the Muller Group, a marketing firm for sports in

Personal life

Davidson is married to Michelle Dryjansky.

References

Emory University alumni Living people Dedman School of Law alumni North American Soccer League executives Businesspeople from Texas Texas lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople 1970s births {{US-business-bio-1970s-stub