Former UCLA star and likely NBA lottery pick Shabazz Muhammed has been at the center of several controversial stories throughout his time at the college. Now, it's his father that is coming under public scrutiny.

Muhammed's father, Ronald J. Holmes, is being charged with mortgage fraud for his dealings in several real estate acquisitions several years ago. Those deals turned out to be quite lucrative for the basketball player's father.

"An indictment unsealed Thursday contends that Holmes used phony information and straw buyers to obtain and sell at least three Las Vegas homes between 2006 and 2009, netting more than $2.5 million," reports KLAS-TV Las Vegas.

A 'straw buyer' is defined as a person who purchases a property on behalf of someone else for any number of reasons. Though it is not initially known why Holmes used straw buyers, it is possible that there may have been restrictions placed on him after he was found guilty of using fraudulent bank statements to acquire mortgages back in 2000.

"This isn't the first time Holmes has been under a cloud of controversy. The Los Angeles Times reported in March that Holmes had lied about his son's age. And, most notably, Muhammad's family was investigated by the NCAA before his career at UCLA began for questionable financial dealings," notes USA Today.

It has since come to light that Muhammed is actually a year older than what was believed when he first joined UCLA's team last year. Though the financial dealings in question never led to any conclusive findings, Muhammed also received criticism over an expensive Gucci backpack he wore during the season. It's possible that backpack may have been bought using money gained from Holmes' improprieties.

Back in 2000, Holmes was sentenced to six months of house arrest and had to pay $78,000 back to the banks he defrauded. It is not yet known what punishment he will be facing with these latest accusations, though jail time is likely.

Despite these numerous problems, it is unlikely that Shabazz Muhammed will be greatly affected by them. Muhammed was fourth in the Pac-12 with an average of 17.9 points a game, and was widely regarded as one of the top freshman in the country. It is very possible that he will be a top-five pick in the NBA draft this June.