play0:29Feds say Northern Kentucky-Robert Morris game in 2024 part of point-shaving schemeAccording to the federal indictment, the fixers recruited forward Markeese Hastings and two other unnamed Robert Morris players to fix the first half of a game against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 28, 2024.
play0:40DePaul-Georgetown game in 2024 allegedly part of illegal betting schemeFixers allegedly agreed with several DePaul players – Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson, Mac Etienne and a fourth unnamed player – to fix the first half of a Feb. 24, 2024, game against Georgetown.
play0:30Feds say Kennesaw State-Queens College game in 2024 part of point-shaving schemeAccording to the federal indictment, Kennesaw State guard Simeon Cottle, forward Demond Robinson and a third player were bribed in a 2024 game against Queens, which was favored by 1.5 points in the first half and led 52-39 at halftime.
Twenty-six charged in massive college basketball point‑shaving scheme (2:26)Prosecutors say players were paid to underperform, fueling a multimillion‑dollar betting scheme that stretched from obscure college matchups to China’s pro league. (2:26)
Feds say Northern Kentucky-Robert Morris game in 2024 part of point-shaving schemeAccording to the federal indictment, the fixers recruited forward Markeese Hastings and two other unnamed Robert Morris players to fix the first half of a game against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 28, 2024.
According to the federal indictment, the fixers recruited forward Markeese Hastings and two other unnamed Robert Morris players to fix the first half of a game against Northern Kentucky on Feb. 28, 2024.
DePaul-Georgetown game in 2024 allegedly part of illegal betting schemeFixers allegedly agreed with several DePaul players – Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson, Mac Etienne and a fourth unnamed player – to fix the first half of a Feb. 24, 2024, game against Georgetown.
Fixers allegedly agreed with several DePaul players – Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson, Mac Etienne and a fourth unnamed player – to fix the first half of a Feb. 24, 2024, game against Georgetown.
Feds say Kennesaw State-Queens College game in 2024 part of point-shaving schemeAccording to the federal indictment, Kennesaw State guard Simeon Cottle, forward Demond Robinson and a third player were bribed in a 2024 game against Queens, which was favored by 1.5 points in the first half and led 52-39 at halftime.
According to the federal indictment, Kennesaw State guard Simeon Cottle, forward Demond Robinson and a third player were bribed in a 2024 game against Queens, which was favored by 1.5 points in the first half and led 52-39 at halftime.
On March 5, 2024, in Buffalo, Chicago and Fort Wayne, Indiana, men’s college basketball players on three different teams were preparing to do the exact same thing: play badly in their games on purpose to help bettors win, federal prosecutors say.
In a 70-page indictment unsealed Thursday, federal prosecutors allege that a gambling ring bribed 39 NCAA basketball players on 17 Division I basketball teams to fix dozens of games over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
While it’s unclear how much was bet overall, the indictment shows the gambling ring wagered at least $3.6 million on the first-half and full-game spreads of college games. The two games that saw the most money wagered were $458,000 on Towson to cover the first-half spread against North Carolina A&T on Feb. 29, 2024, and $424,000 on Kent State to cover the first-half spread against Buffalo on Feb. 27, 2024. Both bets won.
The fixers allegedly recruited Robert Morris forward Markeese Hastings and two other Colonials players, with one of the fixers texting another, “Got the RMU boys ready, waiting on you.”
The sportsbooks had Northern Kentucky favored by 1.5 in the first half of the game at UPMC Events Center in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. The fixers bet at least $256,000 on Northern Kentucky to cover the first-half spread.
The players all underperformed, and the gambling ring cleaned up, prosecutors say. Robert Morris trailed 42-23 at halftime but closed the deficit in the second half to ultimately lose 70-60.
The next day, the fixers were arranging to meet Hastings near a hotel in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where Robert Morris was playing its next game, to deliver the payout. Hastings allegedly texted: “We might as well do the next one too … [this] was too easy.”
Feds say Northern Kentucky-Robert Morris game in 2024 part of point-shaving scheme
The next week, Robert Morris played Purdue-Fort Wayne, which was favored by 7 in the first half. The gambling ring bet $50,000 plus parlays on Purdue-Fort Wayne, which led 46-28 at half. Apparently, the players’ cut came in at more than expected, according to the indictment.
“Y’all gave me a extra band [$1,000],” Hastings allegedly told a fixer. “I [don’t] know if that was on purpose or not. Unless bro counted wrong lol but I doubt it.”
In the game at Stopher Gymnasium in Thibodaux, Louisiana, McNeese State was favored by 12 points over Nicholls State.
According to the indictment, Nicholls State forwards Oumar Koureissi and Diante Smith agreed to underperform in the game. The betting ring wagered at least $100,000 on McNeese State at sportsbooks across the country and abroad, mostly on the full-game spread, the documents say.
According to the indictment: “Shortly after this game, defendant Jalen Smith traveled to Louisiana to arrange for the delivery of approximately $32,000 in cash to defendant Oumar Koureissi and Diante Smith as bribe payments for their roles in fixing the game against McNeese State.
“In arranging for this delivery, defendant Smith texted with defendant Koureissi and Diante Smith, advising them that the ‘bread,’ or bribe payment, would be delivered by an individual driving a truck,” the indictment reads. Koureissi also said in texts and other communications that he would help Jalen Smith recruit other players for the scheme, according to the documents.
DePaul-Georgetown game in 2024 allegedly part of illegal betting scheme
In late February, fixers agreed with several DePaul players — Jalen Terry, Da’Sean Nelson, Micawber Etienne and a fourth unnamed player — to fix the first half of the upcoming Georgetown game so DePaul did not cover, according to the indictment. Georgetown was favored by 2.5 at sportsbooks across the country.
In the second half, DePaul “played substantially better,” prosecutors said, and Georgetown ended up winning 77-76.
Soon after, prosecutors said, the fixers went to Chicago to deliver $40,000 in cash to the DePaul players, and Etienne texted one of the fixers, “[J]ust hit me we got another game this weekend.”
The players also allegedly underperformed in games against Butler and St. John’s the following week. All the bets, totaling nearly $200,000, paid off, and the players received tens of thousands, prosecutors said.
Terry and Nelson later continued the scheme after they transferred to Eastern Michigan in the 2024-25 season, according to the indictment. One of the fixers told Terry to recruit other teammates: “Need all yall like last year and it’s a lock money super duper good let’s work.”
East Carolina was favored by 2.5 points over Tulane at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina. Prosecutors say fixers had recruited Tulane forward Kevin Cross during a video call and offered him $30,000 to underperform.
According to prosecutors, the gambling ring bet at least $140,000 on East Carolina to cover the full-game spread.
On the day of the game, one of the defendants, Marves Fairley, texted an associate, “‘ln the car with the guys . . . Be ready to bet this college game that come on in two hrs. . Tulane/East Carolina,'” the indictment alleges. “Later in this text exchange, Fairley agreed that the game was ‘one of those 100%” guaranteed games and said, ‘I got total of 200k [$220,000]’ in wagers on the game.”
Cross scored four points in the game, well below his 17.5-point season average, and East Carolina won 81-67.
The indictment says defendants attempted to use Cross to fix another game, Tulane’s March 2, 2024, game against Florida Atlantic, which was favored by 15 points but won by only six. Cross had 14 points and three rebounds in the loss.
Both Gray and the other player scored under their season averages, with Gray scoring three points, but Fordham won 79-67, meaning the bets lost.
Feds say Kennesaw State-Queens College game in 2024 part of point-shaving scheme
The fixers first recruited Kennesaw State star Simeon Cottle to the scheme in February 2024, and enlisted him to recruit teammate Demond Robinson and another unnamed player to join them, according to the indictment.
Queens was favored by 1.5 in the first half over Kennesaw State in the game at Curry Arena in Charlotte. Beforehand, the gamblers allegedly placed $20,000 on Queens to cover, prosecutors said.
Queens more than covered the spread, winning the first half 52-39. Kennesaw won the second half 43-39 but lost the game 91-82. Cottle, who had no points in the first half, scored 13 in the second.
The next day, according to the indictment, Cottle gave Smith an address for delivery of the bribes on campus and received $40,000 in cash for him and his two teammates.
That November, prosecutors say, Cottle told Smith he was trying to recruit other teammates, and Smith “offered to ‘flash 200k or sumn [sic] to help persuade.” Cottle allegedly responded that the other players were not interested.
Twenty-six charged in massive college basketball point‑shaving scheme (2:26)Prosecutors say players were paid to underperform, fueling a multimillion‑dollar betting scheme that stretched from obscure college matchups to China’s pro league. (2:26)
Prosecutors say players were paid to underperform, fueling a multimillion‑dollar betting scheme that stretched from obscure college matchups to China’s pro league. (2:26)
Robert Morris vs. Northern Kentucky (Feb. 28, 2024)
Here’s a closer look at six games the feds say were fixed:
Koureissi did not score in the game, and McNeese State won 74-47, easily covering the spread.
