On Thursday, 20 people were charged in a point-shaving scheme involving dozens of college basketball players across 17 Division I teams. Charges include bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. The allegations include paying players thousands of dollars not to score points in order to inflate results and influence betting results.
A ‘significant’ college basketball point-shaving scheme involved 39 players
Efforts to fix games started around Sept. 2022 for games played within the Chinese Basketball Association, according to the indictment and as reported by ESPN. Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney, who wasn’t charged in the indictment but was charged separately, allegedly manipulated his performance and invited other players to do the same.
Shane Hennen, one of the defendants in the case, reportedly texted a co-conspirator after a fixed game, “Nothing guaranteed in this world but death, taxes and Chinese basketball.”
Ahead of the 2023-24 season, a group of alleged “fixers” started targeting college basketball players “for whom the bribe payments would meaningfully supplement or exceed legitimate NIL opportunities.”
These bribes ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 to underperform. Manipulated results led to bettors placing and winning millions of dollars on games.
“This was a massive scheme that enveloped the world of college basketball,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said in a Thursday news conference, according to NBC Sports. “This was a significant and rampant corruption of college athletics.”
He described the scheme as “very successful” despite some failed attempts.
“In basketball, one player can substantially influence a game,” Metcalf said, per ESPN. “But it’s not a guarantee.”
He added that alleged fixers who were recruited had connections in the sport in order to give legitimacy to the scheme.
“They picked these men because they were well connected in the world of college basketball,” Metcalf said. “Trainers, recruiters, networkers, people of influence, and because of that influence, they added gravitas and legitimacy to the scheme.”
Who was involved in the college basketball point-shaving scheme?
As ESPN reported, four players were charged in the indictment: Simeon Cottle, Carlos Hart, Camian Shell and Oumar Koureissi. The allegations against them occurred in games played at their previous schools, while Cottle’s allegations include an incident during the 2023-24 season. Hart was suspended from all of Eastern Michigan’s team activities while the case is pending, while Cottle was suspended indefinitely from Kennesaw State’s team activities.
Twenty of the 26 defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons, according to ESPN. Defendants Hennen and Marves Fairley were also charged in a federal indictment regarding gambling schemes within the NBA.
The defendants were charged with bribery in sporting contests and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The alleged fixers were also charged with counts of wire fraud. Bribery charges can lead to a maximum sentence of five years, while fraud charges carry a maximum of 20 years.
Per ESPN, NCAA president Charlie Baker announced an investigation into betting integrity has been launched regarding about 40 players from 20 schools.
“The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests,” he said. “We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”