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David Purdum
A college basketball point-shaving scheme involving more than 39 players from 17 NCAA Division I teams resulted in dozens of games being fixed over the past two seasons by a gambling ring that also involved a former NBA player, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
According to the indictment, 20 of the 26 defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons. Accusations against four players– simeon cottle, carlos heart, Camion Shell And Omar Courres – Have played for their current teams last week.
The allegations against Hart, Shell and Courcey stem from their previous schools, while Cottle’s alleged incident occurred in the 2023–24 season. None of the allegations against him were from this season.
eastern michigan Hart has been suspended from all team activities pending the outcome of the case, a statement said kennesaw state It was announced that Cottle had been suspended indefinitely from team activities.
Cottle, the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year for Kennesaw State, is averaging a team-high 20.2 points per game this season. He scored 21 points, including five of the last eight points of the game at the Oval. win Above Florida International On Wednesday.
Authorities described the five defendants as “fixers” who recruited players to participate in the scheme and knowingly offered bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to underperform. According to prosecutors, bookmakers bet and won millions of dollars on fixed games.
At least two defendants, Shane Hannon and Marves Fairley, were also charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of New York. focused on gambling schemes In the NBA. Three of the other alleged fixers had ties to college basketball.
The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud in sports competitions. The alleged fixers have also been charged with additional wire fraud. The bribery charge carries a maximum punishment of five years. The fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
Fairley’s attorney Eric Siegel told ESPN on Thursday that he is reviewing the indictment and would not comment further. An attorney for Hennen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney was named but not charged in the indictment. Blakeney was allegedly part of a group that recruited and offered bribes to players to participate in the scheme, and has been charged separately. Blakeney was a star LSU before playing two seasons with Chicago Bulls (2017-19). He has since played overseas in China and Israel.
According to the 70-page indictment, the scheme began around September 2022 and initially focused on fixing Chinese Basketball Association games, where Blakeney was a leading scorer. Blakeney allegedly manipulated his own performance and involved other players from his team.
According to the indictment, Hennen texted a co-conspirator a few weeks after a certain CBA game, saying, “Nothing in this world is guaranteed except death, taxes, and Chinese basketball.”
Prosecutors say the group began targeting college basketball ahead of the 2023-24 season. According to the indictment, the fixers targeted players “for whom bribe payments would meaningfully supplement or exceed legitimate void chances.”
At a news conference Thursday, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said that as the group expanded the scheme into college basketball, it knowingly recruited fixers who had ties to the game.
“They chose these guys because they were well-connected in the college basketball world,” Metcalf said. “Trainers, recruiters, networkers, influencers, and because of that influence, they added gravitas and legitimacy to the plan.”
Following the release of the indictments, NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement that the NCAA enforcement staff had opened an investigation into the betting of approximately 40 players from 20 schools last year, including “nearly all of the teams in today’s indictment.”
“The association continues to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program covering more than 22,000 contests,” Baker said. “We urge all student-athletes to make informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
Of the bets listed in the indictment
*About $458,000 on Towson to beat UNC A&T
*Nearly $424,000 on Kent State to cover the first-half spread against Buffalo
* $275,000 on South Alabama to cover the first-half spread against Southern Miss.
* At $256,000… pic.twitter.com/ErZlshW632– Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) 15 January 2026
*$168,300 bet on Guangdong Southern Tigers
*A $50,000 bet was attempted at a casino in southern Mississippi on Kentucky defeating Alabama State
* $30,000 first-half line bet on St. Bonaventure over La Salle
* $52,395 on St. John’s to cover first-half spread…– Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) 15 January 2026
Along with Cottle, former Kennesaw State guard Demand Robinson was also charged. The indictment alleges that one of the fixers sent a photo of approximately $100,000 in cash to Cottle and Robinson before Kennesaw State’s game against Queens University on March 1, 2024. According to the indictment, Cottle, Robinson and an unnamed third person received $40,000 for their alleged participation in the scheme.
Prosecutors allege that the athletes also attempted to recruit other players into the scheme. According to the indictment, Bradley Ezeviro, a center st louis who allegedly threw a game DuquesneSent screenshot to Jalen Smith, one of the accused fixers depaul Look forward to De’Sean Nelson’s stats and said, “The worst team in the Big East,” and “He’s ready to be in it.” Smith replied, “He already has.”
According to prosecutors, Nelson and three teammates – Jalen Terry, Micawber Etienne and an unnamed player – allegedly agreed to play poorly in three games in 2024. george town, Servant And st johns. According to the indictment, Fairley and other bettors placed at least $27,000 in bets on Georgetown to cover the spread for the first half of the February 24 game. Georgetown finished the first half up 41–28. Terry scored zero points in the first half and 16 points in the second half.
Around halftime, Smith allegedly texted Etienne about paying a bribe and said, “I like Jalen Terry, he gets the job done…Shh— even Nelson.”
The next day, Smith went to Chicago to deliver $40,000 in cash to four players, according to the indictment.
According to the indictment, Hannon, Fairley and their betting associates bet more than $52,000 that DePaul would not cover the first-half spread against St. John’s. Terry did not score in the first half and Nelson scored four points. According to the indictment, Smith texted Etienne during the game to complain about another player who was not involved in the scheme and was playing well. Prosecutors say Etienne responded that he and other allegedly compromised players would keep the ball away from that player.
Nelson and Terry are charged in the indictment, while Etienne is charged separately.
Metcalfe described the plan as “very successful”, despite the fact that some attempts to fix the games were not successful. For example, Fairley, Hennen and others bet at least $195,000 fordham According to the indictment, the spread against Duquesne will not be covered on February 23, 2024. Fordham forward Elijah Gray and an unnamed teammate reportedly attempted a poor performance, but the Rams still won the game. Afterward, Gray reportedly texted Smith, “I tried,” adding that Duquesne did not play well. Smith reportedly responded, “You did your job, sure.”
gray, who moved wisconsin He was dismissed from the team in October before this season, the allegations were made in a separate filing.
“In basketball, one player can impact the game to a great extent,” Metcalf said. “But that’s not a guarantee.”
The college basketball indictment is the latest in a series of sports betting scandals. Over the past two years, there have been cases of alleged event manipulation in the NBA, Major League Baseball, and UFC.
Metcalf said, “The monetization of college athletics and athletics generally through the liberalization and proliferation of sports betting markets, as well as the normalization of compensation in athletics, led to the enterprise in this case.”
On Thursday, Baker sent a letter to state gambling regulators seeking to adjust the laws to better protect players and the integrity of sports, specifically calling for an end to prop betting.
Metcalfe said at his news conference that the victims in this case include far more than just people who have lost money betting on sports.
“The victims in this case come from all walks of American life,” Metcalf said. “The fans, the honest athletes, the teammates of these players who are working hard. …Everyone is a victim of this.”
Information from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was used in this report.
