Kerr Kriisa indicted in alleged $2.2M fraud scheme

Field Level Media|published: Mon 6th July, 16:02 2026

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Kerr Kriisa (11) hits a 3-point basket in the first half of the NCAA basketball game against the Lipscomb Bisons at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Dec. 29, 2025.

Kerr Kriisa, who played college basketball at Arizona, West Virginia, Kentucky and Cincinnati, was indicted on Monday by the Northern District of West Virginia on allegations of orchestrating a $2.2 million fraud scheme.

Charging documents list five counts against Kriisa, while the government will seek judgment equal to alleged proceeds from the scheme plus any property acquired using those funds.

Kriisa, 25, is accused of hatching a scheme using false representations, fabricated identities and deceptive communications to receive funds from at least two victims, according to the United States Department of Justice.

According to Kentucky Sports Radio, Kriisa was arrested by the FBI last week.

The indictment accuses Kriisa of "falsely representing that he and his family faced imminent danger if a victim of his fraudulent scheme did not send him money to pay a debt," and asking one fraud victim to send a payment to the other while using a false identity of "Irene."

An Estonia native, Kriisa played in Lithuania and Germany before coming to the United States to play college basketball. He began his career as a guard at Arizona and played three seasons with the Wildcats.

The DOJ alleges the scheme began while Kriisa was in Tucson in 2022 and he was still operating it on some level last month.

He was with West Virginia in 2023-24, averaging a career-high 11 points per game, though he also served a nine-game suspension that season for receiving impermissible benefits at Arizona. He followed that with a season at Kentucky (2024-25) and another season at Cincinnati (2025-26). Kriisa averaged 8.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 28.1 minutes in 127 games (106 starts) in his college career.

--Field Level Media