A new sports betting scandal made major headlines Thursday morning as federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania have indicted more than two dozen individuals for allegedly fixing NCAA Division I and Chinese Basketball Association games.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said 39 college basketball players from 17 different NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams led to 29 fixed games. The 70-page indictment was unsealed by federal prosecutors in Philadelphia. According to published reports, the games in question took place between September 2022 and February 2025.
During his Thursday news conference, Metcalf announced criminal charges against 26 defendants “that we allege perpetrated a transnational criminal scheme to fix NCAA Division I men’s basketball games as well as professional Chinese Basketball Association games.”
“This was a massive scheme that enveloped the world of college basketball,” Metcalf said during a news conference. “This was a significant and rampant corruption of college athletics.”
The investigation uncovered that games involving St. John’s, Western Michigan, Tulane, McNeese State, Georgetown, East Carolina, Butler, and DePaul were some that were allegedly rigged or impacted.
Metcalf said bribes could range between $10,000 and $30,000 per game.
Individuals are facing charges of bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy, with the wire fraud charges carrying a maximum sentence of up to 20 years.
Out of the players included in the indictment, 15 of them played during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons. Cedquavious Hunter and Dyquavian Short,
who both played for New Orleans, were among the players charged. The NCAA stripped both former student-athletes of their eligibility last fall after an investigation found they violated the Association’s ethical conduct codes.
Simeon Cottle (Kennesaw State), Conference USA preseason Player of the Year, Carlos Hart (Eastern Michigan), Camian Shell (Delaware State), and Oumar Koureissi (Texas Southern) have all played in games for their current teams over the past week.’,
Five of the defendants listed in the indictment were described as fixers. This group included Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, who were also charged in last year’s NBA gambling scandal.
During the same morning that the news broke, NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a statement regarding how “protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance.”
“We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports,” Baker said. “The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA.
“Through helpful collaboration and with industry regulators, we have finished or have open investigations into almost all of the teams in today’s indictment.”
Baker ended up having a very busy Thursday as he sent letters to state gambling commissions reiterating the NCAA’s 2023 request regarding the elimination of player prop bets. The request pertains to “state rules and regulations be amended to create a stronger framework for protection of student-athlete well-being.”
A portion of the letter specifically references eliminating prop bets, including a ban of first-half under spreads.
“Across collegiate and professional sports, it’s been demonstrated that these markets are being targeted for manipulation, and certain betting operators have opted in to excluding these for certain leagues they have commercial deals with,” Baker said in the letter. “The NCAA does not have such deals with operators. Gaming commissions should perform a comprehensive review of game prop markets and eliminate those that carry the highest risk for manipulation.”
