Former NBA star Ralph Sampson will serve two months in jail for mail fraud under a plea agreement approved by a federal judge Thursday.

In exchange for Sampson's guilty plea, federal prosecutors dropped charges of perjury, making a false claim and making a false statement about Sampson's finances in a child support case.

U.S. District Judge James Spencer approved the deal on the day Sampson's non-jury trial was scheduled to begin. Sampson faced a maximum of five years in prison and a fine on $250,000 on each count if convicted.